Kingdom Hearts 3: The Awakening
by MrGrayson24
Summary: KH3 told as a big fantasy epic. A year after KH2, Sora, Riku and Kairi are attacked on Destiny Island by an enemy they thought was dead. As they're pulled back into the war of light and dark, they learn of a new group, calling themselves The Reborn. Nothing is known about it's mysterious leader except their seemingly limitless power. slashverse multifandom
1. The Prologue

The hooded figure turned onto the small island street and grinned. This was it. Pulling up his hood, he took to the sidewalk and clung to the shadows, careful to avoid the street lamps overhead. To his left, small wooden houses were arranged single file, each with it's own manicured lawn and white picket fence. On his right was the endless ocean of this planet and it shed its cool breeze, preparing for dawn. He pulled his cloak closer and hastened his step until he stood half way down the block, back to the ocean. He glanced about quickly and, assured he was alone, pointed to the first house at the end of the block.

"One." He said; his hands were trembling. He pointed to the second. "Two." The hammering of his heart grew louder. "Three... Four... Five…" His paused on a small house that seemed no different than the others. "Six." That was the one. He could feel it, sense it. He felt connected to it. He felt connected to _him_. His head swam, lost in the anticipation and he crossed the road to approach the sixth house.

While silent as the grave, signs life had existed on the street only hours before lay scattered everywhere. Dishes left on garden tables, porch lights flickering, abandoned toys strewn in yards, bleeding from their respective lawns onto the sidewalk. The man hardly noticed the crunch beneath his feet, too fixated on what was promised to him, a reward he was finally going to reap.

How long had he been waiting? _Years?_ It felt like it but nothing compared to the anxiety that swelled inside him now. Surely all the planning, all the work and research hadn't been as long or as torturous as these final feet were proving to be. But it would all be worth it when…

A dark thought overtook him and he stopped dead in his tracks. Did his beloved know that he was even alive? Did he even know he had _existed?_ Could he bear the rejection, after he'd gone through so much? The man shook the idea, straightened his back to the wind and continued on. He had made it this far because he didn't relent when there was something he wanted. _Power. Money. Life_.He had always found a way. Their inevitable unity would happen, in time. It had to. It was destiny.

The sixth house looked as dark as the others but the figure seemed to see it perfectly. He huddled in the darkness and observed, detailing every chip in the wood, adoring every rock against its foundation. Then he spotted something and his heart leapt into his throat. Along the far side of the house, a small window illuminated a faint blue light. Someone was awake.

-x-

Like a snake, he crept along the edge of the yard, courting the small flowerbeds that docked the house and pressed himself to the wall. He shuddered to think how he would have managed in the daytime, with his black cloak against the white house. But the shadows had never let him down and tonight was no exception. So when he finally perched himself beneath the blue window, it looked like he wasn't there at all.

A shout came from inside the house. "You can't do that!"

The man nearly bolted until he realized the comment wasn't meant for him. Crouching low, he craned his neck and tried to make out more voices through the hammering in his ears.

"I just did." Chuckled another. This boy wasn't the one. The man's stomach dropped.

There was a grunt of frustration. "How do you expect me to get better if you keep cheating?"

That one. It was _him._

There could be no doubt. Tears threatened to stream down the hooded man's face and he questioned the stability of his stomach. After all these years and they were only a few feet from one another.

 _Can he sense me, too?_

"I'm not cheating!" replied the first voice and the man's face fell into a scowl. The tears of joy were quickly turning into frustration. "Don't blame me because you don't know how to play the game!"

The second voice must belong to… the _other one._ The man had been warned about it, he couldn't deny that, but he supposed it was his reckless optimism that had written the other boy off as a harmless nuisance, an unfortunate footnote in what should be _their_ story.

"I do know how to play!" The voice emulated to the outside, like a siren calling the hooded man forth. Steadying himself against the wall, he rose as high as he was able without exposing himself, he had never felt need like this.

"Could have fooled me." The man couldn't bring himself to think the other boys name and while they chuckled, the infection of anger begun to spread through him. It should have been him in there! Who did _he_ think he was? There was a silent pause and the laughter died. "Aw, I'm sorry." The first voice sympathized, "you know I love you."

He'd heard enough. So angry he couldn't see straight, the hooded figure stumbled from his hiding place and trampled through the flowers and across the yard. He no longer cared if someone saw him. He had just left part of his soul behind. He reappeared on the sidewalk, his strides longer, and his purpose more urgent. This had been too much. He should have waited but the promise of an easy ending had been too seductive. His legs were starting to go weak and his vision had blurred. It was the desire, he told himself, or the injustice that was causing his body to shut down. But he knew it wasn't the whole truth. He needed to get back to the ship before his body betrayed him completely.

-x-

He had made sure his ship was hidden from sight, an easy achievement with the stealth technology of his Master. Perched on one of the tallest cliffs in Destiny Island, the man climbed up the grassy slope with his teeth clenched and the ship's gangway opened on it's own accord.

In the blue hour before dawn, Destiny Island blew its generous morning breeze, which caused the man's robe to flutter about amongst the tall grass. He stumbled up the metal steps to his ship but had to stop, if only a moment, just as the sun bleached the night sky and pulled the ocean's jewels to its surface. He knew his other half had seen this view thousands of times and one day, they would watch it together. A surge of purpose reminded him that all of this was necessary; that the love he felt now and the love he was promised to feel would be worth it.

-x-

The man collapsed at the top of the stairs. With every ounce of energy he had left, he crawled across the loading dock to a small cabinet, left easily accessible for this exact occasion. He reached up, opened it's tiny door and plunged his hand inside, grabbed the first bottle he found and fell in a heap on the floor; the clones tumbled from the cabinet and shattered around him.

The bottle burned green in his shaking hands and he struggled to loosen the stopper. If he didn't know this would save him, he would have refused to drink it. The breeze had cooled him but a sheen of sweat converged on his brow as he downed the bottle. The feeling of warmth was immediate, starting in his chest it spread through his whole body. He would be fine, at least for a little while.

He sighed, relaxed and rested his head on the wall behind him and played the voice over in his head. For the first time, he had proof, real proof, that the one he loved wasn't just a fairy tale. His beloved! His soul mate! He was real! In the depths of his mind crawled the memory of the _other_ boy but, to his own surprise, he laughed. He would be dealt with. Nothing was going to stand in _their_ way. All that's left to do was wait. Even at this very moment, his Master's plans were being set into motion. And by the time the world realizes a storm is coming, lightening will strike.


	2. The Star Falling

\- The Star Falling -

"On your mark… Get set… GO!"

The excited cheers of the crowd immediately drowned the echo of the gun shot. A dozen pairs of racers, legs bound, broke from the starting line and made a mad dash across the beach. Hundreds of attendees traveled from all over the planet to partake in Destiny Island's annual Stargazing Festival, and this year was no exception. All along the endless beach, picnics blankets were laid out, volleyball nets were pitched, and star themed banners hung from every streetlamp and storefront.

Mayor Krumpton stood upon his small wooden stage with a beaming smile on his round, red face, watching the race with the same excitement as the crowd. His pride was evident from the puff in his chest after firing the start gun, and he took a large swig of beer before he let out a booming wave of support to the racers.

Up a small sandbank, above the beach, was the town's main street. Merchants, chefs, and entertainers sprung up over night lining the cobblestone streets and pitching their wares for the week long festival. The humid air was thick with the smell of roasted meat and salt water. While most of the local sellers carried the offerings of Destiny Island; Paopu Juice pitched as a potion for lovers, purified healing water from their springs, beautiful glass ornaments blown from their fine, white sand, some had brought exotic merchandise from other worlds. These stands were by far the most popular. Groups of marveled spectators gathered around to watch demonstrations, ranging from magic tricks to fire dancing. The crowds became so large, they were pressed together in the streets like sardines.

"This doesn't taste very authentic." Sora whined, letting the crowd move him forward.

Him, Riku, and Kairi shuffled down the street pushed together. Sora, elbows pressed at his sides, held up his fork; a small piece of fruit on it, and let it fall into the black, plastic bowl. "They don't even _have_ mangoes in Agrabah."

From either side, Kairi and Riku giggled. "I don't know what you expected," Riku quipped, "most people here don't even know what Agrabah _is."_

Sora sighed. "I guess you're right." He dug his fork into the wild rice and took a huge bite.

"You're still gonna eat it?" Kairi laughed.

Sora looked at her, puzzled. "I didn't say it was bad." He muttered, mouth full.

"I heard there was a stand with Sea Salt ice cream." Kairi sang. "If you're looking for authenticity, may-"

From the crowd, a hand locked around Kairi's wrist.

Kairi gasped, but before she could retch herself free, both boys abandoned their food, ready to summon their weapons.

"Good day!" An old voice said.

Attached to Kairi, a hunched old man with a twisted smile broke through a layer of oblivious shoppers. His hair was a faded grey, having lost the sheen of silver years before. There was a sort of wild excitement in his eyes that Sora found both disturbing and intriguing.

Kairi snatched her hand back, but the old man kept smiling. "May I offer the girl a _beautiful_ one of a kind necklace? It comes all the way from a planet made entirely of treasure!"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi exchanged looks.

"No, thank you." Riku said sternly as he stood behind Kairi and pushed her on.

Sora followed and gave the old man a suspicious look. The man's gaze immediately snapped to him.

" _You_." The man said, his eyes widening in disbelief. "I have something for you."

Sora looked around, but there was no mistake. The man was addressing him.

"He's good." Riku muttered, and grabbed the sleeve of Sora's shirt with his other hand. "Let's go."

"Wait!" The man cried. His body shook in anticipation. "Take this! No charge!"

From his ill-fitting cloak, the man withdrew a small, round piece of glass and shoved it into Sora's hands. "No charge." He said again, this time with more urgency.

Sora looked down. In his hand he found a small piece of blue glass. It looked like a lens; thin, round, and transparent. He turned it over and looked up. "I really don't want-"

But the man was gone.

-x-

"Am I the only one that thought that man was EXTREMELY suspicious?" Kairi asked.

Once they untangled themselves from the crowd, the three friends made their way to the beach. It took a while to find a spot to sit, but they settled on a small patch of sand beneath a Paopu tree where they could speak privately.

Riku shrugged and rested against the tree. "The festival always brings out the weirdos."

Kairi sighed. "But what about the glass? Why did he want Sora to have it so badly?"

Both Kairi and Riku looked to Sora, but he was busy examining the glass.

It was light on his palm, but didn't feel fragile, and it was hardly flawless. Small bubbles clouded it's clarity and the texture obstructed the picture on the other side. Still, why had the man been so insistent on giving it to him?

"Sora!" Riku called, snapping the younger boy from his thoughts. "You okay?"

Sora smiled and nodded. "Of course!" He held up the glass lens to the sun for one last look. "Just strange is all."

The world was given a beautiful blue hue as Sora looked through it. The ocean and sky looked more beautiful through the lens than they usually did. The glass exaggerated every shade of color so it looked like a rainbow of blue.

With one eye closed, he turned the to the crowd. He looked up and down the blue beach, but nothing seemed out of place. Children swam in the water, tanners lay open to the sun, but for a split second, Sora could swear he saw a shadow move among them. He gasped and dropped the lens.

"What is it?" Kairi asked, concerned.

Sora scanned the beach. "It's nothing… I… I just thought I saw…"

He turned to Kairi and Riku, who both looked worried. Sora felt a drop in his stomach. "It's nothing."

He assured them. "Just a trick of light."

-x-

When the sun went down the crowd from the town thinned and filtered to the beach for the show. Every year at this time, thousands of shooting stars littered the night sky with celestial light. While it could be seen from all over the planet, only the waters of Destiny Island could reflect the sky so clearly that the town became a star itself.

Riku and Kairi began the walk home, too full and tired to continue in the heat. Sora was anxious to look through the glass again, but didn't want Kairi and Riku to know; it would just upset them. It felt like while he searched for any sign that his time away had actually happened, Riku and Kairi found any excuse to act like it hadn't. So he kept it in his pocket, rubbing it between his fingers to assure himself that it was still there.

Kairi's house was the first stop, and after an affectionate goodbye she ran into her house, smiling with a wave over her shoulder. The two boys walked the rest of the way home in silence, Sora too distracted to come up with conversation. Riku didn't seem to mind. His hands were behind his head and he seemed utterly relaxed.

By the time they turned on Sora's street, the sun was half consumed by the ocean and a warm, red light filled the sky. The usually pristine neighborhood now looked like a ghost town. Garbage, abandoned beach amenities, and broken toys were the last inhabitants of the day as even the locals had gone to the town beach.

Sora felt a bubbling sensation in his stomach as they reached his house. "Do you think that man was sent by the King?" Sora asked. He hoped Riku didn't detect the desperation in his voice.

"Wouldn't he tell us if he was?" Riku replied, eyes still closed.

Sora had come to the same conclusion, but hoped Riku thought differently. "But if it wasn't safe? If something new was coming?"

Riku sighed. They had this conversation multiple times. "Is that what this is about?"

Sora thought for a moment. He had become restless over the last year, there was no denying that. On more than one occasion he thought he had seen a heartless, only to find out it was a stray cat. But it didn't stop the voice in the back of his head that told him he didn't belong on Destiny Island anymore. That coming home had been a mistake.

"Maybe." Sora confessed. "But is it really that crazy? We got that letter over a year ago… Maybe… maybe we're finally needed again…" His stomach dropped at his own words. He tried so hard to push out the idea that his time was over, but there it was. Would he ever be needed again?

Riku sighed and clasped his arm around Sora. Sora's stomach sank as they opened the fences latch. "They promised to let us know if there was anything they needed."

"I know…" Sora muttered, looking around the yard. The wave of tourists had somehow managed to trample even his mother's flowers surrounding the house. She wouldn't be happy, but Sora thought the aesthetic was fitting. "But, what if it's something _we_ need? I…" he took a deep breath. "I guess I didn't realize that once the adventure was over… the adventure would be over."

They stopped in front of the door and turned to one another. "So, you want to go on another adventure?" Riku prodded.

"I guess." Sora said, still uneasy. "Or maybe I just don't fit here anymore."

Riku smiled. "Well, you fit with me and Kairi." He reassured. "And, we're always going to need you."

-x-

Sora glanced at his clock.

11:56. He should be asleep.

He sighed and rolled onto his back. Once he arrived home from the festival, Sora immediately went into his room, looked through the blue lens, and held it up to the last bit of sun that danced through his window. But, it hadn't done anything other than paint Destiny Island blue; and Sora wasn't totally sure he hadn't seen it that way to begin with. Once nighttime fell, Sora climbed into bed, hoping his suspicions would fade.

But he just lay there. His mind raced as he watched the unforgiving clock drag him closer to dawn, and with each passing minute, the blue lens seemed to call to him. And it was getting louder.

-x-

Kairi only meant to sit for a moment, but the warmth of the early evening, along with the excitement of the fair, lulled her to sleep in seconds. She awoke hours later in the dead of night, fully dressed, hair matted. She groaned, and with groggy vision, checked her phone. It was 11:57, she had napped for hours.

With a grunt of exertion, she pushed herself upright, and wound her hair onto the crown of her head, binding it with a tie. The open window permitted a cool breeze to flow through the room and hit her exposed neck. She could never get back to sleep now. She started toward the bathroom, peeling off her wrinkled clothes as she went.

-x-

Riku couldn't get the old man out of his mind. Not because he'd been all that interesting, but because Riku didn't know how to put Sora at ease. The old man was just another example in a long string of similar events, that Sora took to mean it was time to fight again. Not that Riku hadn't been feeling the itch himself, but Sora hadn't paid for their adventures like Riku had. He'd never been to the darkness, never had to doubt what side he was on. And Riku would go through all of it again, if it meant his friends' safety, but what if they did leave for another mission? What were the chances that Sora could keep making it through, unscathed?

"Fuck." Riku muttered. He'd lost the game, yet again. He was too distracted to concentrate, but he craved the distraction. On the corner of the screen, 11:58 was scrawled in small neon letters. Taking a deep breath and shaking his head, Riku pressed retry and tried to push the discontent from his mind.

-x-

At a minute to midnight, Sora kicked off his sheets and sat up. There was no point in trying to sleep; all it did was frustrate him. Sighing, he launched out of bed and, without thinking, scooped up the small glass lens from his desk. With the smooth disk safely between his fingers, Sora slid open his balcony door and entered the cool night air.

While the balcony barely left enough room to move, Sora could see the whole of Destiny Island from here. Across the street and beyond the neighborhood beach was the wide ocean, now pulsing and dark. To his right was the downtown area, where the lights of the festival were stamped out in preparation for the shower of stars. He was glad him and his friends decided to skip going with with the rest of the town this year. The silence was nice; he liked the idea of watching his first Star Falling since being at home from his bedroom.

Inside, his alarmed clock chirped and, as if on cue, a single strand of light fell from the sky. The applause and excitement of the audience was heard for miles around, but it quickly died when more and more fallen stars dripped down, leaving trails of light. Before long, the entire night was illuminated, igniting the ocean, which sent the whole beach glowing.

Sora was reminded of a time when all it took was a dash of magic dust and a happy thought for all his wildest dreams to be within his reach. But now, he was trapped, watching the stars pass him by when he should have been flying amongst them. He shut his eyes tight, holding back… tears? Maybe… amongst other things; just when he felt he might break, he remembered the lens.

Desperate for any chance at something bigger, Sora held the glass up to his eye. He turned to his right and he stared over the downtown and across the beach. Through the lens, sky and ground meant nothing; there was no distance, there was no time. There was just a brilliant blue light, plastered over the world like a cracked mirror that made every metal around shine with the brilliance of a diamond.

Pressed against the rail, Sora slowly turned, following the skyline until he faced the ocean. He lowered the glass for a moment and the planet dimmed. Wishing for one final look of the crystal blue world, Sora closed his left eye and looked through the disk, but there was someone in his way. Floating high above the ground was a mass of black robes, glowing blue. Within them, a decomposing face only inches away from Sora's.

-x-

Kairi turned up the water and sat on the perimeter of the bath. She added a few drops of solution and as the bubbles began to form, her hand skimmed the steaming surface. With a drop of her robe and a few more temperature tests, Kairi lowered herself into the water, fell back, and closed her eyes. She felt the tension leave her muscles and float away with the steam as she relaxed into the water. When she opened her eyes, her body went rigid.

Hovering above her like a dark reflection was a hooded phantom. Where the creature's face should have been, there was nothing but black.

-x-

Thoroughly annoyed, Riku marched into the kitchen and discarded his dirty dishes into the sink. He reached into the fridge, withdrew the milk, and chugged it from the carton. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright light from the kitchen window, and remembered the Star Falling. He cast a look skyward and admired the shimmering mass. Destiny Island may be small, but there was nowhere else in the universe that had anything like this.

Leaving the room, Riku shut off the light as he passed. In the dark, the stars' light gave the impression of rain on the inside of the house. But as Riku left the kitchen he stopped, ears peaked, and turned on his heel. He knew Sora had just made him paranoid, but he had something moved? He turned on the light and scanned the kitchen, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. He blamed the outer lights.

Riku clicked the light switch off and turned, and a cold, invisible hand closed around his neck. While no figure resided within, the flowing black robe was definitely alive and it was definitely pissed. Riku tried to find it's arm, or what he hoped were arms, but he froze. His feet were leaving the ground.

-x-

Sora opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. He stumbled backward and fell, but continued to crawl through the balcony door and across his room, his eyes never leaving the floating black mass moving toward him. He tore his eyes away just as the Phantom breached his bedroom, and pushed himself up, dropping the lenses in the process, which sent it skidding under his bed.

Sora summoned his keyblade and it appeared in a series of lights and codes. He took aim, ready to fire; where should have been a glowing orb within the creature's robe, was nothing but more flowing black fabric.

Sora turned and fled from his room, as fast as his feet would carry him, and threw himself against the front door and darted into the street.

-x-

If Kairi's parents were home, they would have heard a blood-curdling scream from their daughter's bathroom. But, with the festival still in full swing, nobody was around for blocks to hear.

The Phantom had begun to fall toward Kairi, who tried to gain footing in the full tub. Just before he blanketed her, Kairi grabbed the rim and pulled herself up and over, rolling onto the floor. With the slick of the bubbles, Kairi pressed her foot on the outside of the tub and pushed, sliding herself to the other side of the bathroom.

The creature turned its head to the side, surprised, but Kairi summoned her keyblade.

"LIGHTENING!" She screamed.

A bolt of lightening shot from her ceiling, through the phantom, and into the water, electrocuting them both. Kairi didn't stay to watch. She pulled a towel from the rack and flew to her bedroom.

-x-

"Get- OFF- mother- fucker-" Riku chocked. He was starting to see spots.

He clenched his hand, and with a final push, summoned Way to Dawn. He brought the fine point through the creature's hood, and its scream was like a knife on chalkboard. In the creature's hysteria, Riku struggled free and fell into a heap on the floor. The phantom writhed above him, wailing in agony, but it wasn't dead.

When he tried to stand, Riku nearly fell again from the lack of oxygen. His head was swimming and the world was in a thick fog, but he pushed forward until he sucked in the evening air, hands on in his knees, desperate to fill his lungs. The wails inside the house began to turn to screams of rage, and Riku commanded himself to move.

-x-

By the time Riku reached the end of his street, he could almost see straight. And, when he turned onto Sora's, he was ready to fight. He ran past the neighboring houses and noticed Kairi running towards him in the distance. Her hair was wet, and her sweats and tank top looked hastily thrown on. From Riku's left, Sora darted from his house, and the three met in the center of the street.

"What's going on?!" Kairi yelled as she jogged the final feet between them.

"Phantoms." Sora said sternly, turning back to his house. "You guys too?"

Kairi nodded, Riku looked down in thought. "Phantoms!" He exclaimed loudly. "I know this one! We just have to do the spell that correlates with the orb!"

"These ones don't have orbs!" shrieked Kairi. "They-"

"-They're here." Sora pointed to the far end of the street. The three Phantoms hovered a few feet above the ground, and were quickly coming toward them.

"When did they all meet up?" Riku questioned.

Above them, the Star Falling reached its climax. Millions of stars launched in every direction like cosmic fireworks. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy, and the screams of astonishment were thunderous. Riku could see each fold of their robes by the light of the night sky.

"What are we going to do?!" Kairi planted her feet into the ground, bracing herself for the inevitable collision.

From behind them came the sound of cracking, followed by a huge gust of wind. The Phantoms stopped, and without thinking, the trio turned and all three of their mouths fell open.

In an enormous swirl of grey and white was a five story tall tornado. Its tail connected to the ground and left a trail of broken pavement in its path as it decimated the neighborhood. The Phantoms, undeterred by the massive cyclone, once again resumed their pursuit.

"Well, we're fucked." Riku stated. He dropped his arms.

Sora glanced about wildly, then turned inward, Kairi and Riku following suit.

The finale of The Falling began, and it seemed every star in the universe turned out for the crescendo. Nobody would look down from the sky now, even if a giant tornado was passing only a few blocks away.

" _If we survive this-"_ Sora called over the wind and cheers, " _-go to Disney Castle, and don't trust anyone but the king!"_

Riku looked to the ground, and nodded. Kairi drew a frown, but gave a nod and a small smile of understanding. None of them wanted to admit the end could have come this quickly.

The night sky exploded in a final burst of light, and the town went silent in astonishment. The Phantoms and the tornado were only a few feet away now, and in a moment of calm, the three friends grasped hands in a final goodbye.

They were gone in an instant, sucked into the sky; the Phantoms right beneath them. The tornado started to slow and release the wind. Cars, trees, and bits of the road fell back to the ground, but Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the Phantoms were nowhere to be found. The night sky returned to black as the last of the stars' light were extinguished, and Destiny Island became a quiet town once again.


	3. A Tower in the Sky

\- A Tower in the Sky -

When Sora awoke, the first thing he felt was the wet grass against his face. Before he'd opened his eyes, everything came rushing back. The Star Falling, the Phantoms, the tornado and… _Kairi and Riku._ His heart stopped and he nearly jumped up, but forced himself to stop. _Check yourself first. You can't help them with a broken leg._

He flexed all the muscles he could think of and rotated every limb, until he was sure the worst was a few cuts a bruises.

 _Alright._ Sora took a deep breath. _Where am I?_

At first, Sora thought he was still on Destiny Island, and the Star Falling hadn't ended. All around him was the night sky, illuminated not just with fiery stars, but planets, moons, nebulas, comets; any treasure the limitless sky held seemed to be on display for him. He sat up, his head throbbing, and for the first time in a long time, Sora felt a swell of hope. He was laying at the base of Yen Sid's tower.

From across the small, floating island, came a groan. Sora whipped his head around and prayed. He jumped up, and another groan came from behind a bush. Sora flew behind and found Riku, with eyes clenched tight and his hands pressed against his ribs.

"Riku!" Sora knelt by his best friend. "Are you okay?"

Riku winced. "I'm the best." He winced again. "I think it's my ribs... not too bad. I should be okay."

Sora sighed and sat back on the grass. "I'm glad you're not dead." He looked about, but there was no sign of Kairi.

"I don't think she's with us." Riku stared up at him.

"We have to get to Disney Castle." Sora pronounced. "That's where she's going to be!" Riku groaned as he sat up, and Sora was quick to support him until he was sitting upright. "Can you walk?" Sora questioned.

"Guess we'll see." With a gust of effort, Riku pushed himself to his feet. "Oh, fuck, that hurts."

"Sit down, then!" Sora exclaimed.

Riku shook his head. "Yen Sid will be able to fix it. And hopefully tell us what's going on."

They looked up to the enormous tower looming over them. Its walls were rounded, a natural deep orange, but no brick lines to be seen. There were small engravings of stars that were dense at the base, and grew sparse as the real ones took their place around the tower's top.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" Sora wondered.

Riku shrugged. "Probably. But why wouldn't he have come out when we fell?"

They exchanged nervous glances and stepped toward the heavy double doors of the Mysterious Tower.

-x-

The tower was exactly how Sora remember - it constantly changed completely. There was a single path that led to Yen Sid's chamber at the top, and infinite two-door rooms separated one staircase from the next. These rooms were always cosmic in theme, and seemed to randomly decide which order they would place themselves, so much so, that Sora was positive they went through the same room three separate times, on three separate floors. One thing about the tower remained the same. The millions upon millions of steps.

Climbing the steps alone had been exhausting; climbing them while Riku wrapped his arm Sora's neck for support was near impossible. Every few dozens steps they would have to stop, sometimes just for Riku to catch his breath. Other times they were forced to sit until his nausea died. Sora didn't mind but he wondered if they would ever see the top, or maybe, they would be lost in this glorified elevator shaft forever.

"So, who do you think sent the Phantoms?" Riku winced and sat back on the steps, hands pressed against his ribs.

Sora shrugged. They thought the same thing, and the higher they went within the tower, the further away the answer seemed. "My first instinct is to say is to say Xehanort, but... I don't know. Things just feel _different_ this time."

Riku nodded and closed his eyes. "What about why someone want us dead so badly?"

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned. The Phantom's intention was the one question Sora thought he had the answer to.

"Those Phantoms were being controlled by somebody with serious power, and a serious vendetta. By attacking us, it means they were hoping to get us out of the way before they started whatever they were going to start but-"

"-if they didn't succeed, we'd be tipped off they were coming." Sora finished. "Who needs us dead so badly, they're willing to risk being exposed?"

-x-

After what seemed like days of climbing, and a thousand random rooms, they came to a portion of the winding staircase that was different than the others. Where the lower levels retained the stucco walls from the outside of the tower, this room was enchanted to look like the night sky that surrounded it. It seemed as if they were leaving earth, having climbed to it's highest point, and entering a higher plane. At the top of the staircase were large, white double doors with intricate carvings of histories from places Sora had never heard of.

"Ready?" Sora asked.

They both nodded to the other and each pushed a door open.

-x-

While the entire tower seemed to have been cut from stone with magic, Yen Sid's office upon it's crown looked anything but. Upon first glance, it would have been easy to believe they somehow wound up in another tower, but the single winding staircase behind them erased any doubt they might've had.

The study was simple, clean, and shockingly ordinary. It was in the shape of a half moon, but there were no magical enchantments of the night sky, just dull maroon painted walls, blanketed in book-covered shelves. To Sora's left was another door, brown and simple.

A large window hung behind the desk, which gave the impression of a framed picture, as opposed to a galactic view of orbiting planets. The only evidence that Yen Sid resided here at all was the ornate chair behind the heavy oak desk, which hadn't been properly pushed in. With an extended back, the gold chair was made to look like it was covered in metallic scales.

 _Maybe they are scales_. Sora couldn't be sure.

The cushion was covered in a rich velvet that mixed dark blues with purples and greens, giving the impression of colorful smoke; on it's seat, was the unmistakable pointed hat of Yen Sid.

"Where do you think he is?" Riku asked while he surveyed the room.

"Bathroom?" Sora joked, and they both giggled nervously.

It never occurred to Sora that Yen Sid might not be home. He approached the chair with his arm outstretched, but stopped before picking up the hat. It felt wrong, somehow, like it had been left there for a very specific purpose, and Sora didn't want to disturb it.

Just then, the white door flung open, and three stout, little women seemed to pop through at once.

"I _told_ you they were going to come today." Merry Weather muttered to the witch in pink.

Fauna stuck up her nose. " _One_ accurate prediction spell in _two hundred_ years, and regardless-" she turned to Sora and her face illuminated, "-Sora! We are so happy to see you, dear!"

The three witches surrounded him and launched into a barrage of comments so fast, Sora couldn't answer before a new question had been asked.

"Oh, are you hungry? We'll make you a _wonderful_ meal!"

"You look thin, what have you been eating on that island?"

"Honestly, dear, can you do something with your hair? You're so handsome…"

"When I heard what befell you on your last journey, I told Yen Sid to bring you here _immediately,_ if only he'd have listened…."

"Um…" Riku muttered from the other side of the room. The witches immediately went quiet and whipped around to face him.

"Who's that?" Merry Weather asked Sora, a bit of distain in her voice.

"Uh, that's Riku, he's-"

Sora wasn't sure he had finished his sentence because at the mention of Riku's name came another explosion of enthusiasm, and the witches crossed the room to surround Riku.

"We've been waiting _so long_ to meet _you!"_

"So handsome, and strong! But could you smile more?"

"Your ribs! What happened?! We can fix those up in no time!"

Flora raised her wand, and brought a small ribbon of glitter through the air, which floated toward Riku, and evaporated as it fell. Hesitantly, Riku released his grip on his rib and stood up straighter, moving slowly at first, before a large grin spread on his face. Before he could give thanks, the small women were at it again.

"What happened to you out there?"

"I can see what Sora sees in you!"

"Just wait until Yen Sid hears that you're here… he's going-"

"Where _is_ Yen Sid?" Sora interrupted. His face glowed red, and he didn't meet Riku's eyes. "You said you knew we were coming?"

The three women looked between themselves, clearly debating how much they should share. Sora would have been annoyed if he wasn't desperate for any information, especially related to Kairi. He couldn't deny the sinkhole of guilt in his stomach that told him that it was his job to keep them safe and together, and he failed.

Fauna stepped forward, her head bowed. "We knew you'd come, dear. We're sorry we couldn't stop what happened to your home. And, please forgive us for not meeting you when you arrived. We were advised not to leave the tower." Sora started to speak but Fauna continued, her soft voice demanding attention. "Yen Sid is away on business at the moment, elsewise he would have been here to greet you. But, we have alerted him to your arrival."

With a drop in his heart, Sora wanted to argue, but knew it wouldn't do any good. Yen Sid worked in mysterious ways and he no doubt told the fairies to keep Sora and Riku in the dark for now.

"Oh, now, don't be dreary." Flora said. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

Merry Weather stepped forward and clasped Sora's hand. "Why don't you get some rest? The two of you must be very tired."

Sora smiled. "I guess, it was a long climb."

The three women led Sora and Riku from Yen Sid's study into a circular room with numerous doors around them. There was no way, Sora noted, that the layout was possible from the size of the tower, and he felt a spark in his stomach. They were amongst magic once again; anything was possible, and somewhere beneath the worry for Kairi and the anticipation for their new foe, Sora felt gratitude. He was back. His wish had been granted.

-x-

Sora and Riku were led into a room unlike any other they'd seen. The door looked like it had been pulled off of a sunken ship so recently, you could still smell the salt water. The room inside was a dark, stone corridor, with a cathedral ceiling that seemed to go on for miles. Along the walls were more shelves, but instead of books, crystal balls, magical toys, ornate jewelry, and things Sora didn't even know the name of, cluttered every free inch of room.

"What is this place?" Riku asked, while he and Sora looked around, eyes wide.

All three women were distracted and frantic, as they pulled things off the shelves and muttered to themselves. "It's Yen Sid's collection." Flora called over her shoulder, struggling to remove a particularly large box from a lower shelf.

Sora and Riku looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Merry Weather to the center of the room as Fauna pulled out her wand. With a flick of her wrist, she pointed at the ground between them and… nothing happened.

Riku opened his mouth to speak, but long vines began to creep out from between the chambers stone floor.

"What the-" Riku stammered.

The thin vines came from all corners of the room and met in the middle, where they intertwined themselves until they became a small table for Flora to set the box.

The fairies congregated what appeared to be a dollhouse with blankets, plates, utensils, pajamas, towels, and soap in their hands. Riku looked between the dollhouse and the women. "No way." He said.

"It's perfectly safe." Flora sang, "If anyone were to come looking for you, imagine how much harder you will be to find!"

' _And imagine how much easier it would be to step on us'._ Sora wanted to say, but returned their smile instead. They handed him his provisions for the night.

Merry Weather cleared her throat. "Now, if anything were to happen, all you have to do is throw up sparks with your keyblade, and we'll be there in a moment!"

"What if something were to happen to you?" Riku asked, but they didn't seem to hear him.

-x-

Sora learned it was always better to close your eyes when going through a magical transformation. The lesson first became relevant in Wonderland when, with a bite of a forest nut, he turned stories high. The change had been so sudden and so traumatic, that when he'd returned to normal size, his stomach churned over; it took an hour before the shaking stopped.

Thankfully, the size adjustment for the dollhouse wasn't nearly as gruesome, and before Sora knew he'd been hit with their spell, he stood with Riku on the front steps of a full size, two-story house.

"Looks nice." Riku mused.

"Goodnight." Flora told them, her huge face taking up most of Sora and Riku's sky. Flora turned to the other two, and they made their way out.

"Wait!" cried Merry Weather. "Don't forget to set the alarm!" Then, she floated from the room, and closed the door.

Sora and Riku ventured into the house and found a small panel next to the front door. "What do we do?" asked Sora. He opened the front flap and looked at it curiously. "It doesn't look like the one we have at my house."

"Move aside" said Riku gently. The buttons on the panel had foreign shapes and figures that Riku had never seen before. "How are we supposed to arm it if we can't read it?" Riku said, half to himself.

Suddenly, the panel leapt to life with a soft blue light illuminating it's tiny screen. "Confirmed audio." It said in a low, female voice. "Defensive Barrier Now Activated." From above they heard metal scrapes, followed by the sound of flowing water.

"What kind of defense do you think it is?" Sora looked up.

Riku walked to the living room window. "I think we're about to find out."

They watched together as streams of water floated around their dollhouse from a spout at the top, and encompassed them in a neon sphere.

"Do you think it's safe?" Sora asked.

Riku opened the front door, ripped a button off his vest, and threw it at the shimmering sphere.

Like a chestnut on a fire, the button flew back toward Riku, missing his head by an inch, and lodged itself into the wall. Riku pulled it out and laughed. The button was melted, charred, and a different color.

"I think we're good."

-x-

Over the course of the night, Sora continued to look through the window to remind himself of his size because inside the house, it was impossible to tell. All the furniture was as detailed as their large counterparts, and equally as soft. On the lower level was a living room, with a large window looking over the porch and out into the room. Connected to that, a kitchenette, where Riku and Sora set up the dinnerware they'd been given, which continually filled itself with food until Riku and Sora were so stuffed, they could barely drag themselves up the stairs.

There were two bedrooms with a joint bathroom on the upper level. "You think she's okay?" Riku had asked as they made their way to their separate bedrooms.

Sora wanted to say that yes, and deep down, he hoped he would have known if something happened, but he just couldn't be sure. "I do." He said with more confidence than he felt.

Riku started down the hall, but stopped, and turned to Sora. "I'm glad we're together." he stated. Sora felt a rise in his stomach.

"I… I couldn't stand the worrying again." Without another word, Riku left the room. Sora sat there, slightly stunned and horribly tired.

He tucked himself into bed, ready to sort through the day's events. He was asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.

-x-

Sora awoke to the beaming, enormous face of Merry Weather.

"Gooooooood morning!" She chirped. "Time to wake up!"

Riku and Sora were reluctant to get out of bed, but forced themselves to dress in their clothes from the previous day, and meet in front of the security panel. Sora was pleased to see that Riku tied his hair back up, and he chuckled; Riku must listened to the fairies' suggestions.

Riku leaned into the small voice box. "Barrier down."

"Barrier down." The robot woman assured.

"I guess it worked," Sora said. He opened the front door and climbed onto the porch, as the barrier faded like smoke. They stood next to one another and waited to be returned to full size.

-x-

"What do you mean he isn't here?" Sora exclaimed. How could Yen Sid have failed to show up, _again?_

Merry Weather sighed. "You will have answers today, but we have some things for you first."

Sora and Riku looked to each other, then back to the fairies. "Like what?" Riku asked and cocked his head.

Fauna took a deep breath and shuffled uncomfortably. "This journey will be unlike your last. There are trials ahead of you that can't be predicted or prepared for. There is much you will have to face on your own, but we will send you with what help we can."

Fauna raised her wand high above her head and flicked her wrist. A silver spark emerged and slithered like a snake from the tip of her wand, which led a beautiful trail of silver light behind it.

The spark split between the two keyblade wielders, and expanded until they were covered in light. Sora felt a sense of warmth as the light caressed his skin and spread over his clothes before it turned into a slick metal liquid. Riku winced as it covered his body, nervous it wouldn't stop; it crept up his neck and down his arms. Just when the metal threatened to cover them completely, it stopped, and began to drip like water onto the floor.

What appeared in its place were upgraded versions of the fairies' last gift. Gold embellishments were stitched into the seams, outlining the clothes in a band of golden light. While his hooded sweater remained, the black turned a midnight blue, and Sora's utility packs became a richer yellow to compliment it.

"Whoa." Sora said as he examined his new clothes. He smiled, and looked toward Riku, whose own wardrobe had been reinforced with magic. They turned back towards the fairies, who were busy admiring their handy work.

Flora stepped forward. "These garments will help keep you safe on your journey. They are impervious to harm, and inlaid with magic abilities that will make themselves clear over time."

"Now!" Merry Weather exclaimed. "We would love for you to stay longer, but I believe your ship has arrived!"

"Ship?" Riku and Sora said together.

Riku knitted his eyebrows, "Where are we going?"

-x-

Sora nearly tripped over his feet as he sprinted down the front steps of the tower onto the wet grass.

"Sora! Take it easy!" Riku grunted with clenched teeth as he tried to grab Sora's new vest. Sora either didn't hear him, or didn't care; he didn't break his stride in the least. Once he heard that Goofy and Donald were picking them up in the Gummi Ship, he'd been impossible to calm down.

Sora shifted between his feet as the Gummi Ship came into view amongst the thousands of stars in the sky, and gently landed on the grass.

The gangway came down but Sora was already halfway to the ship when he spotted his friends. "Donald!" He yelled. "Goofy!"

Sora lunged forward and pulled them into a huge hug. Goofy had a delirious smile on his face, and Riku noticed that even though Donald pretended to be annoyed, he was as excited to see Sora as Sora was to see him.

With some encouragement from Riku, Sora finally released his friends.

"So, do you guys know what's going on?" Riku asked Donald and Goofy.

Donald shook his head and started to usher them into the ship. "We haven't heard anything. The King will clear it all up."

The mention of the King put a smile on Riku's face. His best friend, other than Sora and Kairi, was on the other side of this flight; even if everybody else insisted on being cryptic, the King would tell him the truth. They had been through too much for him to keep it from Riku.

-x-

The ship took off and rose high into the heavens, leaving the tower far behind them. Sora replayed the fairies' last words to him and Riku before they left the tower.

"And, lastly," Fauna had said, "don't ever forget the power of the keyblade. Trust it when you can't trust yourself."

Sora couldn't help but feel they knew something he didn't.

-x-

"Attention, attention!" Donald's voice rang through the audience chamber of Disney Castle, which brought the roar of the crowd to a dull mummer. The second the ship landed, Sora and Riku were brought to atrium of Disney Castle, which was filled with a very unsettled crowd. They were ushered to the front of the hall, and sat to the right of the King's empty throne.

"What's going on?" Sora whispered to Riku, hoping he could hear him over the crowd.

Riku leaned over the side of his chair, "Haven't a clue."

Donald and Goofy took the chairs on either side of Mickey's throne. Once Donald had the attention of the crowd, Mickey appeared from behind his throne and faced the room.

"Thank you all for coming today." He spoke lightly to the agitated mob. Sora scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces, but unable to find any. Everybody here seemed to be from this world, and Sora had never traveled beyond the castle gates.

"I assume everybody knows why they have been gathered here." With this, the crowd erupted again. Riku sat forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees, trying to make sense of the tornado of words that swirled in the room. Mickey paused until the crowd softened, then continued. "But, for those of you who don't, there has been an uprising in the darkness, felt even here within the castle."

Sora expected another outrage from the crowd, but it fell into somber silence. _Had something happened?_

"I want to assure you all that the Cornerstone will not fail us," Mickey pronounced in his high pitched voice, "And that you are all safe here, within the confines of the castle." The crowd pitched a sigh of relief.

The rest of the meeting consisted mainly of formalities, evacuation plans, and housing assignments. Sora could barely sit through Donald's explanation of the different alarms and their meanings. His head was filled with too many questions and concerns, and he knew that if they weren't addressed soon, he'd go crazy.

Sora took a deep breath and tried to take stock of his questions, so that when the time came, he would be ready. The first, and most important thing, was Kairi. _Why hadn't she been taken to the tower, like me and Riku?_ And what of the danger that was coming? What alerted them, and why was Sora only hearing of it now? _Could it really be so bad that they're evacuating the city?_

Riku seemed to be thinking the same kinds of things. His teeth were gritted, and his left eye brow was raised while he looked up. _He only does that when he's stewing._

Hours later, the meeting adjourned, and the hall slowly emptied with dozens of people crowded around the King for more information. Donald came for Sora and Riku, and ushered them into the King's empty office. They'd only just sat in the over stuffed chairs when Mickey threw open the double doors, with Goofy behind him.

"Tell Chip and Dale to have the Gummi Ship ready as soon as possible." Mickey said to Goofy as he threw open the study doors.

"On the double!" Goofy saluted, and turned out the doors.

Mickey walked to the center of the room, stopped, took a deep breath, and ran to Riku and Sora, grasping them into a hug. "I missed the two of you!"

When they pulled apart, the King took the seat behind his desk, with Riku and Sora standing on the other side. "I must tell you now, I know you have questions that I don't have the answers to, yet." The King said gravely.

"What about Kairi?" Riku asked. "We were separated when the tornado came, do you know where she is?"

"Kairi is with us. You were all supposed to be delivered to The Tower, should there ever be an attack, but that type of magic is difficult to control, even for Yen Sid. Kairi was thrown off course, but we quickly located her on the desert planet of Jakku and brought her back here."

Sora wanted to cry. _She's alright._ He said over in his mind. _I didn't lose her._

Riku shifted, and Sora could tell he was bothered the King hadn't told him about the protection spell. "And the Phantoms?" Riku inquired.

Mickey looked down. "Separated and stranded on different worlds. But, they'll regroup and return to whomever sent them."

"And that would be…?" Sora asked, but only one name came to mind.

"We don't know anything for sure, except, there's been a surge in the darkness. Something is stirring, and it's powerful. We've seen what it's capable of and-" the King shuddered. "- it's more destructive and evil than anything I've ever seen."

Riku leaned forward. "What do you mean _you've seen what it's capable of_?"

The King looked up, and Sora felt a chill down his spine.

"The Deep Jungle is gone."


	4. Reunion

\- Reunion -

Gone? Sora spun the word around in his head like a flaming baton. The Deep Jungle couldn't be… gone. It felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. He plopped himself down in the high back chair facing Mickey's desk.

"I know it's hard to hear…" Mickey continued. Sora tuned him out. The words weren't registering. How could an entire world just be-

"Gone?" Sora asked out loud and looked to Mickey.

Mickey stopped whatever he'd been saying and nodded. "The Deep Jungle was invaded by dark forces a few days ago, it seems the Heartless have a new Master. We sent in reenforcements but… it was already too late." The King paused, upset. "Nobody was left alive. Those that weren't turned into Heartless were killed on the spot and… not kindly." Sora took a sharp breath. "And there have been no traces as to what caused it."

Riku erupted. "But we've saved worlds that have fallen into darkness before!" "We can save some of them, right?" Sora wanted him to sound more hopeful.

Mickey shook his head.

Riku groaned in frustration. "Well why the Deep Jungle?! Doesn't that give us some hint?!"

Mickey's face hardened. "As of now, we are taking it as a warning. There was no strategic benefit to the Deep Jungle; it was an unconnected planet without any magical resources. They weren't an advanced technological society so leaving the planet wasn't an option as they were eradicated."

Riku opened his mouth to speak but Mickey brought a folder from beneath the desk and slid it toward them. "They also left a message."

Leaning over the picture, Sora saw it was a satellite photo of The Deep Jungle and his heart dropped. He could make out the tree house and the cluster of foliage they had used as a meeting ground with the apes. It was just as he remembered it… except it was all on fire.

Flames blazed across the tree tops, sending up clouds of smoke. But the scorched path through the jungle spelled out a single word in fiery letters.

 _REBORN_

 _"_ What the hell does that mean?" Riku looked up.

"At first we took it to mean we were dealing with religious extremists but… after taking stock of the bodies and the method used for killing, we think it they're telling us their name."

Just then the office doors burst open with a smoke covered Yen Sid on the other side. "One day that duck will get a spell right!" He exclaimed and shook the ash off his star adorned robes. Yen Sid strode into the room, noticed Sora and Riku and re composed himself.

"Riku," Yen Sid nodded to him, then turned, "and Sora. I see my spell at least worked for the two of you. I owed your friend Kairi my apologies."

The boys both nodded. "We never doubted you." Mickey affirmed.

Sora looked between the King and Yen Sid. "So what does all this mean?" He inquired. "What happens now?"

Yen Sid took a seat opposite Sora while Riku stood next to him. "Things are grim." Yen Sid imparted to both of them.

"We know." Riku snapped back. "That's all anybody will tell us, nobody will give us anything solid!"

"You have been given the information we have and almost all you will need. Do not underestimate your foe Riku." Yen Sid replied, his deep, calm voice seemed to make the books on the walls vibrate.

"Whatever it is, I think we can handle it." Riku rolled his eyes.

Sora was almost sure he saw a small smile creep over the lips of Yen Sid, an act he imagined happened only very rarely.

Mickey popped from behind the desk and joined the three. "What Yen Sid is trying to say is we need to know that both of you are in this fight. It will be unbeatable without you-"

"-but it is still your choice." Yen Sid finished for him. "This will not forced upon you. If you wish to leave, we will have the ship take you back to your island and you will not be called on again."

Sora looked up to Riku who stared directly at Yen Sid. "And if we agree?" Riku asked carefully.

"If you agree," Yen Sid raised an eyebrow, "you will join the ranks in an official capacity. I cannot guarantee you will all make it out alive but you will be given the chance to save the lives of many others."

"What ranks?" Sora turned to Mickey.

"We will need more than just one brave fighter, this time. We've contacted all the connected planets, asking for them to send any available troops they might have. Thousands of soldiers are arriving from all over the universe over the next couple of days."

It had never occurred to Sora that he had a choice and he almost felt offended that he was being offered one. The key blade had chosen him, _hadn't it_? If there was a fight, he was supposed to be in it. He thought back to Destiny Island and something inside of him cringed. He didn't want to leave it, he realized and he once again felt the tear between wanting adventure and the comfort of home. _I'll always want the one I can't_ have he told himself. It would be there when he got back if he went. And if he didn't, it might not be.

"I'm in." Sora said with a nod.

Riku took a step forward, "Me too."

Sora thought the Masters would be happy but all he saw in their eyes was grief. It was almost enough to make him back out. Almost.

"Good." Yen Sid said matter-of-fact. "Kairi came to the same decision. I think it's time you were reunited with her."

-x-

Sora felt a tidal wave of emotions as the King ordered Goofy to take them down to the garden to meet Kairi. He was upset over the loss of his friends. Tarzan, Jane, even Clayton. They were all just… _what was the word the King had used? Gone_. They were gone and they weren't coming back. But there was excitement and relief for Kairi and guilt over failing to keep them together. He felt home sick but even more than that was the ever-familiar itch. The itch that an adventure was just around the corner and this time, he would have Riku and Kairi by his side.

' _And then there's Riku.'_ Sora looked at the taller boy next to him. They had been friends for years and recently Sora had started to feel uncomfortable around him, like his stomach might turn over at any moment. Especially when he played Riku's words from the previous night.

" _I don't know if I could stand the worrying again."_

He knew how Riku felt because he felt the same, but if it was something friends did, worry about each other, why was Sora over thinking it so much?

Sora was so lost in thought, he didn't realize they had arrived at the Disney Castle garden. The garden was still one of the most beautiful, and colorful places Sora had ever seen. The topiaries reached monumental proportions and cast shadows onto the neon flowers seemed to glow on their own accord.

In the center was a large castle replica made from firm green hedges with benches surrounding it. Kairi was seated at it's base with her ankles crossed as she waited patiently for her friends arrival.

"Sora! Riku!" She cried when she saw them approach. She jumped up from her seat and laced her arms around them both and pulled them close. "I didn't know what happened to you guys!"

Kairi let go of Sora and analyzed him at arms length. "Why are you wearing new clothes?" She asked.

"Gift from the fairies." Sora said casually. When Kairi looked her confused, he gave her a small wave. "It's a whole thing. So, what happened to you?"

Suddenly, a loud cannoning blasted off near the castle.

"That's my que! Gotta go! Remember the meeting, tomorrow morning at sunrise!" Goofy yelled and ran off.

Kairi motioned for the boys to sit on the bench as she folded her legs beneath her and gently sat on the ground. Sora sat down first, followed by Riku who sat a little closer than Sora thought was necessary.

"What have they told you?" Riku leaned forward.

Kairi shrugged. "Same as you, I suppose. Great darkness, nothing like this before, in for the long haul."

"And Yen Sid's spell? He explained about that?" Sora inquired.

Kairi nodded. "He did. He said that he put it there after we got back the last time. It wasn't originally a tornado, just a teleport if we ever got into trouble. It was Mickey's idea to go bigger."

"Why?" Riku asked.

"Because he wanted to make sure nothing could follow us. It wouldn't have done anything to the Phantoms if we had just evaporated."

Sora sighed. "The Phantoms are still alive."

"I know." Kairi looked down, grabbed a daisy and twirled it between her fingers, never denting the stem. "But we're safe here and the King will know what to do."

Kairi smiled and Sora felt better. Even if the Phantoms were out there, they weren't going to get close to them while they were in the castle.

"What happened to you guys?" Kairi asked, still smiling.

Riku told her the story, starting with being woken up by Sora, then their impossible climb to Yen Sid's study and the dollhouse the fairies had created for them.

"You guys slept in a dollhouse?" Kairi asked. "I at least got my own room."

When Riku had finished with the meeting they'd had with Mickey, there was an awkward pause.

"Do they know something they aren't telling us?" Sora hoped he wasn't the only one who felt suspicious.

An eerie silence hung between the three of them.

"Probably." Kairi responded and the idea wafted around them like smoke.

"What do you think they're hiding?" Riku asked.

Both Sora and Kairi shrugged. But the question that bothered Sora wasn't _what_ but _why_.

-x-

The three friends talked in garden until late into the night. They recounted the friends they were going to visit, the memories they had on past adventures and theories about their next assignments. By the time they noticed how much time had passed, the Castle torches had dulled to a faint glow and the halls were still.

"You guys head in, I'm going to stay out here a moment." Kairi smiled to them. Sora was about to offer his company when Kairi stopped him. "Just need a minute to think is all. I'm fine, trust me." SHe grabbed Sora's arm reassuringly. "Oh! Goofy told me to tell you Riku is down the hall to the left and Sora, your to the right."

They exchanged good nights and Riku and Sora headed back to the castle, leaving Kairi looking up at the stars.

"You think she's going to be okay?" Sora asked and he glanced behind himself one last time before they turned into a grand hall and she was blocked fro sight.

Riku nodded, a slight grin on his face. "Yeah, she's going to be fine. She's tougher than you think."

"I think she's tough!" Sora grumbled to Riku but deep down he knew Riku was right. He always worried about Kairi more than he did Riku but in some ways, she had proven she was stronger than both of them.

They reached the end of the grand hallway, which intersected with another, thinner hallway. The ceiling above them was a beautiful patchwork of mismatched stone inlaid with a sculpted iron that had been made to look like vines. There was a thin banister that ran the length of the hall, made of the same iron, that separated the hallway from an endless drop off the cliff of the Castle had been built on.

"Doesn't look very safe." Sora said and lookied over the railing. It was like the fall went on forever with only an inch of land between the castle and oblivion. It gave the castle the sense it was floating. It made Riku uneasy.

"Well, we should get to bed," Riku said and pointed with his thumb behind him. "I'll catch you tomorrow." Riku smiled and took off down the hall.

-x-

Sora turned and began to panic. There were hundreds of doors along his hall, how was he ever going to find his? But he knew instantly the room that was meant for him because the emblem of large golden crown had been etched on his door and charmed to glow.

He pushed the door open and it pitched a small creek throughout the dark room. Sora squinted his eyes, trying to see through the black when the candles in the room illuminated which cast a soft glow onto his ornate new room.

Covering the far side of the wall was a large window which opened onto a balcony that hovered above the garden below. Sora could see Kairi still sitting on her bench and looking up at the stars. On the wall to his right was a large four-poster bed, a green velvet duvet and countless pillows covered the king sized mattress. Large wooden cabinets and tables, lined with gold adorned every free wall, each with a vase of beautiful flowers on top of them. To his left was a huge fireplace with a roaring fire already underway. Two comfy chairs were placed around an overstuffed couch with a small table between them.

Sora analyzed the room. "Better than the dollhouse."

-x-

The cold air snaked around Kairi's exposed legs and sent a shiver up her spine. The beautiful night sky was spread out before her, her eyes dancing from star to star.

"Here we go again." she thought to herself.

Kairi had been wondering when they would be called and in all honesty; she was hoping it would be sooner. The days on Destiny Island seemed to trickle by at a slow pace and it seemed the only thing she heard about were Sora and Riku's fantastic adventures. Not that she hadn't done things but she never got the chance to make friends the way they did, to help worlds. That's what she wanted and she was going to prove herself this time around.

Lost in thought, Kairi didn't notice the a vortex being opened behind her or the soft crunch of icy grass beneath the traveler's feet.

"Kairi…" Sepiroth said in a low hiss. Kairi jumped from the bench, nearly turning 180 degrees in mid air, with her key blade in position and ready to strike.

"Who are you?" Kairi yelled, feeling dark energy wave off of him in droves. Before the man had arrived, she'd been cold. Now, it felt like she was bathing in ice.

-x-

It was getting worse, the queasiness Riku felt when he talked to Sora. It first happened when they had been reunited in the World That Never Was but Riku had attributed that to their reunion. But over the course of the last two years it had escaladed until Riku wanted to throw up when he saw Sora. But in a good way.

Riku pushed open the door to his room, marked cleverly with a dramatic bat wing on the door and a cool light filled his room once he opened the door. He took a minute to admire it.

"Sora would like this" he thought to himself and stood in front of a small table facing the wall.

"Am I interrupting?" Came a voice from the shadows. Riku whirled around and his jaw dropped and he stumbled back into the small side table.

Where once had been an empty bed sat Maleficent. Her long black robes spread out before her like an extension of her soul and she ran her fingers along the tip of her emerald staff. Riku gritted his teeth and tried to summon Way to Dawn but found he couldn't raise his arm.

"Maleficent! What are you doing here?" Riku spat at her.

Maleficent smiled to herself. "Hello to you to, Riku. I'm glad you're doing well."

"I'd be doing better if you left!" _How was she alive? How was this possible?_ Riku felt something well up inside him.

"Now, don't be like that. I can still sense a little of the old you so don't pretend you aren't a little happy to see me. I must admit, I thought after two years you would have it more under control but I'm not going to scold you for making my job easier."

"It is gone!" Riku shot back but his voice betrayed him and cracked.

"You really think that don't you? Well, I hope for your sake you are right." Her fingers worked their way down her staff.

Riku's courage built, the shock of seeing his former adversary wearing off. "What are you doing her Maleficent?"

Maleficent rose from the bed and drifted toward Riku. "I have a… proposal for you."

"I've already heard one today, but thanks." Riku started to sound braver than he felt. Maleficent closed in on Riku and he raised Way to Dawn to her neck.

Maleficent stopped and shook her finger at Riku. "Do you think if was going to be that easy I would have come? You just need to listen to me." Riku's arm lowered slightly but Maleficent didn't move. "You have a darkness in you Riku and I can help you harness that darkness, make you stronger than you could ever be with… these people." Maleficent's venom with palpable.

` "Join me and I promise you, we will realize your full potential."

-x-

Sora had just removed his vest when there was a knock at his door. "Come in!" he yelled, hoping his visitor could hear him. The door creaked open and Mickey poked his head through. "Can we talk?" The King asked.

Sora ushered him in. "Of course, your highness." Mickey entered the room, careful to close the door behind him and joined Sora in the small sitting area in front of the fireplace. Sora took a huge comfy chair and Mickey sat on the couch.

"There's something I wanted to discuss with you, Sora." Mickey looked at the fire, his gaze not moving and the light whipping against his skin.

"What is it your majesty?" Sora leaned forward.

"Dark forces have penetrated the gates." Mickey said. Sora's eyes opened wide and he became frantic.

"What do we do you're majesty? I'll get Riku!" Sora leapt up but the King grabbed his hand and sat him back down.

"There's nothing you can do. They will not attack tonight. Not in the way you think." Mickey continued to stare at the dancing flames. Sora readjusted himself on the chair and narrowed his eyes. Something had already begun.

"Who's here, your highness?"

-x-

"I'm a little offended." Sepiroth smiled while the portal closed behind him. He started to pace. "I would have thought somebody-"

"Sepiroth." Kairi had heard about him. It had taken her a moment to place the long silver hair and one wing but it was his aura she recognized first. Sora said it was incomparable and he had been right.

Sepiroth smiled. "That a girl."

Kairi was confused. "How did you- with the Conerstone…"

Sepiroth stopped near a low hanging tree and plucked a leaf. "There's a crack," Sepiroth said, distracted, like he wasn't answering Kairi's question but like he had just realized a long forgotten truth, "the lines have faded."

Sepiroth snatched himself out of his trance, clenched the leaf in his fist and released the remains to the wind. "I'm here to pass along some information."

A half smile crept on Kairi's face. "What makes you think for a second I would believe anything you have to say?"

Sepiroth cocked his head. "Brave words for a girl who single handedly caused a planet to fall into darkness."

Kairi's smile faded instantly.

-x-

"Get out! You can't control me anymore!" Riku roared. He lowered his arm and crossed the room, anything to give himself distance. _I can't hurt her? Fine_. _That doesn't mean I have to listen_.

Maleficent remained stationary and watched Riku unravel. "Then why are you so nervous?"

Riku and threw Way to Dawn at her but where Maleficent disappeared and his sword lodged itself into the headboard. He hadn't expected to hit her but he jumped when she appeared behind him.

"That's the way, Riku. Give into the darkness, it's waiting for you!" Maleficent cried and held her staff high into the air. Riku felt something pull at his insides and all the hate and rage he had tried so hard to keep at bay surged and set his soul on fire. "You cannot fight what you are." Riku fell to his knees and clutched his ribs, unable to find the source of his pain.

 _"You're still you."_ he thought. " _You're still you, you're still you."_

The agony intesified. Riku felt as though everything he knew was being ripped open and stitched back together with hatred.

" _You're still you, you're still you."_ He held onto everything good that he had known and felt a small warmth somewhere deep inside him. His Island, his friends, the more he thought of them, the easier the darkness became to bear.

" _You're still you, you're still you."_ The darkness cracked and peeled off him and he thought of Sora and broke free.

"You can't hurt me anymore Maleficent!" Riku cried. He pushed himself off the ground and lunged at Maleficent for a second time.

-x-

"Why aren't you doing anything!" Sora's voice broke. "If Maleficent and Sepiroth are here, why don't we stop them?!"

"Because we can't," Mickey said bluntly, "they can't be stopped, not here, not tonight. And Kairi and Riku need to know what they're up against."

Sora eyed the King. "You're using this as a lesson?" he said, shocked. "They could get hurt!"

The King turned to Sora for the first time since he'd knocked on the door. "No, Riku and Kairi are too important. They can tip the scale. This isn't about stopping them; it's about converting them. I have no doubt that Kairi and Riku will past this test but it is their test to pass, not yours."

Sora took a deep breath and collected himself. His trust in the King was waning. He didn't understand how putting Kairi and Riku in danger could be construed as a positive.

"Why didn't they come for me?" Sora asked.

"Because they knew you can't be corrupted."

-x-

Kairi felt like Sepiroth had shot her with a bullet. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Sepiroth's arrogance returned. "Funny, I was told you would. Tell me Kairi, does it hurt keeping such a dark secret from your best friends?"

Kairi stuttered. "I don't have-"

"And to have the annulation of an entire planet on your shoulders, that must get… _heavy_."

"Shut up" Kairi said quietly.

Sepiroth walked toward her. "You must of known the consequences."

Kairi looked away.

"You did!" Sepiroth said amused. "And you still chose your beloved island."

Kairi spoke louder. "Shut up!"

"How…" Sepiroth whispered, "…pathetic."

Kairi raised her arm toward Sepiroth and her keyblade appeared in her outstretched hand. "I said shut up, mother fucker."

But Sepiroth moved with blinding speed and reappeared behind Kairi. He pressed his body up against hers and his hand wrapped tightly around her throat.

"Don't push me Kairi, this was supposed to be a nice meeting."

Kairi struggled against his hand. She raised her key blade but Sepiroth grabbed her wrist and pulled it to her side. He leaned in close to her ear; she could feel his words creep into her like a snake.

"When this is done, you're going to have a lot more to answer for than one fallen planet, Princess. We're coming for all of you and you're going to watch as we rip your universe to shreds. Tonight, you get a free pass. Tomorrow, it's war."

Sepiroth detached himself and Kairi still as the grave, Sepiroth's handprint a red outline on her porcelain skin.

-x-

Riku knocked into Maleficent while she cast her spell. They crumbled to the floor but when Riku stood up, she was seated on the bed once more, looking as if nothing had happened.

"You put up more of a fight than I gave you credit for." Maleficent said. She lifted her hand and conjured a small green ball of light. "I guess we'll have to do this the slow way."

The ball of light flew at Riku and crept into his body. The agony returned for a moment before he felt back to normal.

"What did you just…" Riku coughed out. He was out of breath and sweating.

Maleficent laughed. "Just a little… reunion present." The room became like a furnace as Maleficent disappeared in a brilliant green blaze. Riku looked down at his chest where the light had entered him. _This is really bad._

-x-

"They're gone now." The King was solemn as he leapt off the couch.

Sora stood up. "Where you baby sitting me?"

Mickey turned toward Sora. "I had to make sure it was their decision, not your interference that dictated the end result. I'm sorry Sora." The King turned back around and headed for the door. He opened it but turned.

"Trust is dangerous, Sora." Mickey said.

"Somebody among you might not deserve it." He closed the door behind him. Sora stared after the King.

"You may be right."


	5. Strategic Positioning

\- Strategic Positioning -

It was the worst night Riku had ever spent, and he had some bad ones. Lying in his bed, constantly turning, Riku felt the darkness inside of him and it taunted him with every thought, with every movement.

"You're still you." He whispered to himself over and over again. But the worst part wasn't the hate, or the anger. It was the guilt. Somewhere, buried way down deep, there was a part of Riku that felt relieved. For two years he had kept the darkness at bay and for two years, everyday was a struggle. There was something inside of him that wasn't in Sora or Kairi and it was a constant battle to try and hide it from them.

But as Riku laid there, his sweaty body cocooned in a mess of sheets and silver hair clinging to his face, he couldn't help but worry about what Sora would say if he knew what had happened.

-x-

Down the hall, Sora wasn't able to find sleep, either. He had planned to run to Riku the second the King left but something in his chest stopped him. It was awful to admit that he wanted to see if Riku passed the King's stupid test. _What if Riku is still tempted by the darkness?_ Sora clenched his eyes at the thought. He didn't know what it would mean if Riku fell into the shadows again. _If he did, could I bring him back a second time?_ A wave of nausea overcame Sora because he couldn't say for sure.

 _And what about Kairi?_ It wasn't her first time to different worlds, Sora reminded himself, but this would be her first time as an active solider and having the darkness buzz around you like a gnat wasn't going to help the adjustment. Sora played back what Riku's words.

"She's tougher than you think." Sora felt comforted.

-x-

Kairi, in her own room in the east wing of the castle didn't feel like a solider in the least. It had taken her nearly two hours to stop crying but the shakiness in her legs continued as if Sepiroth's words were still trapped inside her. How had he known what about Kairi's past? It made her uncomfortable to know that her enemy could know so much about her. _What else did he know?_ Kairi developed a headache trying to decide how much Sora, Riku and the King needed to know about her nighttime visitor.

-x-

All too soon, a blast of the cannons alerted Kairi, Riku and Sora that dawn had arrived. Sora slipped into his new gold vest, too tired to wonder as to what power they might contain. He looked out the window, past his balcony to the garden beyond where the low morning light had cast itself upon the foliage to awake them from hibernation.

"Crap!" Sora thought. Sunrise. The meeting had begun.

With the grace of a Rhino, Sora bolted out of his room, leaving the door wide open and flew down the hall at the speed of light. He couldn't be late. He was a keyblade wielder, people would be looking to him to keep a level head.

Sora's face was bright red by the time he got to the entrance of the audience hall. The morning air had made his eyes water and he was a out of breath but we was relieved to find that there were people still walking in, and others standing in small groups, murmuring with lowered heads.

He burrowed his way through the crowd and picked up snippets of conversations and he migrated through.

"I heard that the cornerstone has gone dark!" A cow said to a rooster, both oblivious to their champion walking behind them.

"Evacuation!" Cried a duck talking to a pig. "But the King said we were safe!"

Talking animals did little to phase Sora anymore. Between his traveling companions and the various worlds he had seen, there wasn't much that surprised him.

"Sora!" a voice cried through the dense crowd. Sora recognized the voice as Kairi's and headed toward it, careful to avoid colliding with the refugees. He was relieved to hear her voice, at least she was in working condition this morning. When Sora broke through the crowd, he saw Kairi stand with Riku to her right, and Leon to her left.

"Leon!" Sora cried. He ran up and hugged the gunslinger. At first, Leon went totally stiff but Sora didn't relent and just clutched him tighter. A moment later, his stance relaxed and he returned the embrace.

"Good to see you, kid." Leon ruffled Sora's spiky brown hair, leaving it in a more disarrayed state than being up all night had.

Sora feigned grumpiness. "I'm not a kid anymore! I'm 17!" Leon realized Sora was right. He had grown a couple inches. He wasn't tall by any means but he wasn't the same boy he'd met in Traverse Town almost five years ago, now.

"I guess your right." Leon laughed. "Kid."

Kairi and Riku chuckled and Leon gave Sora a small punch. "All good fun."

Sora smiled but couldn't ignore the wave of despair. They looked as tired as he did and were probably worse for wear. _What had the darkness done to them?_ It took everything Sora had to not pull Riku aside and make him recount the events of the previous night in pain staking detail. Was Riku going to tell him what had happened? Sora doubted whether he should ask.

"-ut then the King said the meeting was mandatory for one member of the restoration committee to come so here I am." Leon didn't sound pleased. Sora hadn't realized Leon was talking.

"So the rest of them aren't here?" Sora was a little disappointed.

Leon shook his head. "Too much work to do, trying to track whatever is out there. Merlin has been casting a magic net to locate our new foe and the girls are trying to hack in through the computer."

Kairi knit her eyebrows. "Whose computer are you hacking into?" She asked politely. "If we don't know who we're fighting…"

Leon shrugged. "It's been a long process."

Sora was about to ask the status of the Hundred Acre Wood when Donald joined them. "The meeting is about to start!" He quacked.

-x-

Donald led them into the grand hall; the three tired key blade wielders dragged their feet behind him. Riku's eyes darted around cautiously. _Would the King be able to sense the darkness inside of him?_ He hoped not. It was taking everything he had to fight back against the knot of anger and hatred that twisted inside him. _They don't need to know,_ Riku assured himself. _I can get through this on my own._

-x-

Donald dismissed Leon along their walk, sending him to the front pew then led Kairi, Sora and Riku to the front where three chairs had been placed to the right other side of the King's throne.

It was the King that Sora had dreaded seeing most today. Of everything that had happened since they left Destiny Island, it was the King's decisions Sora couldn't seem to grasp. His decision to let Kairi and Riku fight their own battle still made no sense to him. If he was willing and able, why shouldn't he help his friends?

 _He knows something you don't._

A voice nagged at the back of Sora's mind. He tried to shake it out but every time the thought would come up like a magic 8 ball.

 _He knows something you don't._

Sora took his seat with Riku on his right and Kairi to his left. Donald told them breakfast would be served afterward. "Breakfast…" Sora thought dreamily. It had seemed like days since he had eaten.

-x-

Riku looked around the room and tried to concentrate on something, anything. Sweat had started to drip down his forehead and he held onto the arms of his chair with white knuckles.

"You okay?" Sora asked looking very concerned. Riku was grinding his teeth again. _Why can't I just tell him the truth?_

Riku smiled. "All good over here." He said and hoped his reassuring tone was enough to fool his oldest friend.

"Okay…" Sora reclined in his chair and gave Riku a sideways glance.

-x-

Like before, the King came out from behind his throne with Minnie, Donald and Goofy behind him. The queen took the seat the King's left and Goofy and Donald followed suit with the remaining chairs.

The King raised his arms and the crowd fell silent. The atmosphere of the hall was different than it had been the day before. Where once was outrage and anxiety was now simply fear. People could feel something different was in the air and they were unnerved.

"Our enemy has breached the Cornerstone." Mickey announced.

The crowd went back to outrage.

"How!" Somebody yelled from the 3rd row.

"Can it be fixed?!" Another shouted from the right.

"Has somebody attacked?!" A shriek came from the back.

The King let the questions wash over him as they were thrown from the audience. Once the crowd had composed themselves, Mickey cleared his throat.

"We do not know what has caused this." Mickey addressed the crowd. "But we are doing what we can to fix it. There was an attack last night-"

The crowd was lit ablaze again. The King waited until silence returned. "We have begun to recruit other worlds for this fight and we will be ready for the next attack once it comes."

Sora was surprised Mickey was willing to share his plans so early. Additional aid meant things were too big for the King to handle by himself and that wasn't something they wanted their enemy to know.

"And the Key Blade Wielders?!" Someone accused. "What have they done to help?"

The King turned to Kairi, Sora and Riku and gave them a nod. "The Key Bearers will be given tasks later this after noon."

Sora could barely contain the relief he felt. If there was anything he could do to help, he was going to do it. He was done waiting; it felt good to be needed again.

The hall slowly emptied once the meeting had adjourned. By the end, Mickey had convinced them that things were being taken care of and that he would alert them when real worry was necessary. Sora, Riku and Kairi waited for the crowd to clear out before they started down the long hall back to the main corridor. The second the clean breeze hit Sora's face; Leon grabbed his arm.

"Come with me." He said.

Sora barely had a chance to give his friends an apologetic look. "But breakfast..."

-x-

"So what's going on?" Leon asked Sora.

Leon had dragged Sora to his room; not bothering to tell Sora what could be so urgent. Once they'd settled onto the balcony, Leon took a seat on the concrete bench with his sword balanced on one leg, extracted a rag from his pocket and began to polish his sword.

"I'm sorry?" Sora asked.

Leon looked up from his sword. "What's been going on since you left? Start at the beginning."

"I…" Sora couldn't see a reason to keep anything from Leon and he realized he needed somebody to confide in. He couldn't tell Riku what he was going through, not everything. He would have to skip over the parts about how he was worried about Riku going over board with the darkness, or the feeling in his stomach he felt whenever Riku was around. Or that something had happened to Kairi but Sora didn't know if he should ask.

"Okay." He sat next to Leon and took a deep breath. "It started with the Star Gazer Festival..."

-x-

Sora recounted the entire story. Leon's face remained unreadable as he explained everything that had happened to them. Every now and again, Leon would ask a question or chuckle to reassure Sora he was listening.

"-And I don't know how to help or what to do. And with the King-" Sora sighed.

"You don't trust him." Stated Leon.

Sora shook his head. "I trust him. I just don't understand why he's doing the things he's doing."

"Like letting Riku and Kairi get attacked?"

"Among other things. I just can't stop the feeling that there's something he isn't telling me. But why would he keep me in the dark?"

A faint smile crossed Leon's lips. "He does that sometimes. Sometimes, there are things we need to found out for ourselves. It's not always convenient but Mickey understands that."

Sora turned to Leon. "Can we afford to think like that when all of this is happening?"

Leon shrugged. "Can we afford not to?"

They sat in silence for a couple of moments, watching the sun rise over the opulent garden.

Leon squinted his eyes. "There's something else on your mind."

There was no point in lying to Leon; he was a human lie detector. Sora wasn't sure about Leon's past but he would suspect that he had some military training. "I'm just worried."

Leon sat forward. "About?"

"Riku and Kairi." Sora rose from the bench and walked to the edge of the balcony to rest his arms on the concrete barrier.

Leon rested his elbows on his knees. "What about them?"

Sora shut his eyes tight. "What if I can't protect them?"

"You won't be able too." Shrugged Leon.

Sora looked at him in disbelief. "Leon-" his confidant was turning out to be less than stellar.

"I mean you can't, you won't be able to all the time. You have to trust them." Leon said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Sora could felt his voice rise a little higher. "I trust them!" He said, "It's them…" he waved his hand to the sky above him, "I don't trust!"

Leon sighed and looked down. When he looked up, there was a new level of resolve on his face. "Sora, you're wiling to give your life for this fight?"

Sora nodded. "I am."

Leon stood and walked toward Sora. "Then give your friends the same choice. They are both amazing warriors and they'll never get a chance to prove that if you're acting as their bodyguard."

Sora looked at Leon horror struck. "I'm not going to let my friends die!"

Leon smiled. "That's not what I'm saying. Nobody is questioning your love for them. But you aren't responsible if something happens, you never have been."

Tears started to well up in Sora's eyes and he willed them to go away. "I am responsible…" He wiped his eye with the back of his hand. "I wanted this. I wanted to get away from our Island so badly and it's done nothing but hurt them. I know we have a job to do but what's the point if something stronger is just around the corner? We're responsible for keeping peace in the worlds and if we fail-"

Leon grasped both of Sora's shoulders. Sora was nearly sobbing at this point. "-if you fail," he said sternly, "then there was nothing that could have been done in the first place." To Sora's surprise, Leon kissed him on the forehead.

Leon nodded and gave Sora's arm a reassuring squeeze before he started back to Sora's bedroom.

Their moment was over and Sora turned back to the garden.

"Um…" Leon paused at the balcony doors, "there is one more thing?"

"Anything."

Leon shuffled, uncomfortable and looked to the ground. "You said it was Sepiroth who visited Kairi?"

Sora's stomach dropped. "Cloud." _How could he of been so stupid?_ If Sepiroth was back, Cloud might not have been so lucky. Leon's face turned to stone.

"I know." Leon had come to the same conclusion. The pain felt like a knife. "But Cloud can handle himself."

"I'm sorry." Sora said quietly. "You haven't heard from him since the fissure?"

Leon shook his head. "No."

He started back into the room. "And don't be sorry." He called over his shoulder. "It'll cheapen it for when I make the one responsible pay for what he's done."

-x-

Kairi and Riku walked down the hallway toward the dining hall and Kairi couldn't help but notice that Riku seemed sluggish. He walked slowly and he seemed distracted, like he was concentrating too hard.

Kairi stopped dead in her tracks. Riku, lost in thought, walked a few feet before he realized she had. "What are you-" he asked.

"What's going on?" Kairi demanded. "You look like death."

Riku continued down the hall. "It's nothing, maybe just a bug. Ill timing, huh?" Kairi didn't follow him. Riku turned on his heel and Kairi had her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't believe you." She pronounced and stomped up to Riku to look him dead in the eye. "Your pupils are all dilated and…" she pulled back his long silver hair "…you're burning up. What happened to you? I can't help if you don't tell me what's going on."

Riku batted her hand away. "It's nothing!" He told her. He was getting annoyed.

Kairi moved her face closer to Riku's. "Not this time! No secrets, remember! What's the point of being together if you're going to cut me out?"

Riku sighed. She was right. He had no right to keep this from her, especially if they were going to be risking their lives. "If I tell you, you can't tell Sora, okay?"

That unnerved Kairi but she nodded. "Okay."

-x-

"You have to tell the King." Kairi concluded.

They had found a small room off a side hallway and Riku had recounted the conversation with Maleficent. The room looked like a forgotten drawing parlor. Each piece of furniture was covered in long white sheets except for the red velvet couch in the middle of the room were Kairi listened attentively. Morning sunlight streamed in through the windows but it did little to lift tension in the air.

"I can beat this." Riku declared. "I did it before, I can again. I just can't let Sora-" his voice cut off with a small choke.

Kairi tried to hide her sympathy. "It's going to be hard but the King can help you. He'll be able to undo whatever Maleficent did!" Kairi touched Riku's back for reassurance and felt him trembling.

"Riku." Kairi said softly and rested her head on his shoulder. "You're going to be okay."

-x-

Leon left Sora alone on the balcony to collect his thoughts. He knew that Leon was right but that didn't stop the worrying but after drying his eyes and taking a couple deep breathes, Sora hurried down to the dining hall and hoped he could still make breakfast.

-x-

Throwing open the doors, the first thing Sora saw in the dining hall was the long buffet that lined the right side of the hall and his heart sang. There was everything from pancakes to fresh fruit, there was even ice cream and Sora wondered how he was going to be able to sample it all. Leon seemed to have the same idea when Sora spotted him in the line. His plate had been piled so high, it threatened to break.

There were circular tables laid out through the hall, most of them half filled with animals from the meeting. Sora scanned the room for his friends until he saw them seated at a table in the back, huddled together in deep conversation.

"Eat it!" Kairi snapped at him when Sora approached the table. Kairi had a fork filled with eggs positioned at Riku's mouth and he looked like he was about to throw up on it.

"What's going on?" Sora asked them, looking between Kairi, Riku and the fork. Kairi noticed Sora standing over them a second to late but quickly brought her fork down.

She shrugged. "Just trying to make sure Riku get's his protein."

Riku only managed a nod. "Since when does Riku turn down food?"

Riku looked nervous. "Just not hungry is all." He said through gritted teeth.

"Is there something wrong?" Sora sat down and Riku turned away from him before their eyes met.

"Nothing wrong." Riku mumbled. "I'm going to get water."

Riku didn't look back so he didn't see the hurt that was written all over Sora's face. The younger boy had never been good at hiding his emotions.

"He gets grumpy," Kairi rolled her eyes and jumped from her seat to Riku's. "Some guys just don't know how to handle being sick."

Sora didn't say anything, he just pushed his food around the plate with his fork. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry.

-x-

After breakfast, Sora and Kairi made their way to Mickey's office to find they were the last to arrive. Yen Sid sat in the chair closest to the King's and Leon analyzed the books. Mickey was seated behind his desk and Riku had already arrived. Trying to act casual, Sora smiled to Riku and the trio approached the King's desk.

"I have assignments for each of you." The King pronounced. Leon wandered over, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Sora." The King said, "I need you to go to the Enchanted Dominion."

Sora nodded his head. "Okay! What do we have to do?"

"Not we. You." The King said. "I am sending the three of you to separate worlds."

"But, your highness." Sora started. He looked to Leon for reassurance but Leon shook his head and his heart dropped. He didn't want to be separated from his friends but the conversation with Leon set in.

 _I can't protect them forever._

Sora paused and turned back to the King. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to protect the castle. We have reason to believe that when another attack hits, it will be after one of the Princesses of Heart. You'll be partnered with Aurora in case something were to happen."

Riku's voice caught in his throat. "You're making us… security guards?" He was irate.

The King shook his head. "Not all of you, just Sora. Riku, I am sending you to meet with an old friend of mine."

"You're not even putting me with a Princess?" Riku shot back. "Why?!" He slammed his hands on the desk and a loud boom echoed through the high ceilings. The King showed no emotion.

"It's what's best, Riku." The King said, resolved. Sora couldn't deny that Riku's outburst made him nervous. Riku seemed to notice the way he was being looked at and composed himself.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Riku was quick to leave the room.

Kairi and Sora started to go after him when The King stood up. "Let him go." He stated. "There are still some instructions that need to be given."

The King laid out everything for Sora. Leon would fly him to the Enchanted Dominion later that afternoon and he was to remain close to the Princess until he heard otherwise. Sora had met Aurora briefly during his first adventure and remembered her long blonde hair and calming presence. Would it really be that hard to protect her? Why did the King need Sora for such a pointless mission? Couldn't his time be spent better elsewhere? He didn't want to be there _if_ an attack happened, he wanted to _lead_ an attack against the enemy.

Sora was dismissed from the meeting before he was able to hear what Kairi's assignment was. He would have been more inclined to stay but he left with Riku being the only thing on his mind.

-x-

Sora pushed open the bedroom door with the Way to Dawn emblem on it. He poked his head in and scanned the room, hoping Riku was there. The lights were all off, the curtains had been drawn and in the chair furthest from the door was Riku. His eyes were closed and he seemed relaxed but sweat poured from his brow and Sora noticed his foot jumped wildly.

"Riku, what's happening to you?" Sora crossed the room, leaving the door open and knelt next to the chair.

Riku attempted a smile. "I told you, just the flu. Yen Sid's making a remedy right now. I'll be good as new."

Riku saw the anger flare inside of Sora and he almost exploded from the guit of having to lie. "The King told me to let you know that you were leaving to meet his friend later this afternoon." Sora said dryly and stood.

Riku winced. "Still? I thought after what I said…"

Sora shrugged. "He knows what a good person you are Riku. We all do. You just need to trust yourself."

 _"He would think's you're weak."_ A voice came from the back of the room. Maleficent's voice.

Riku shot up. "Did you hear that?"

Sora looked up, confused and followed Riku's gaze to a dark corner. "I… I didn't hear anything. Are you sure you're okay?"

Riku sat back down. "Yeah, I'm fine." But his body remained rigid.

 _Please tell me I imagined that._ Riku hoped when an even darker thought struck him.

 _It doesn't matter. They're right._

-x-

Chip and Dale scuttled along the metal floor of the launch deck, making sure everything was primed for take off. Sora was strapped into a smaller version of his Gummi Ship with Leon as his chauffer.

"I can drive if you want." Sora asked Leon.

Leon looked sternly at Sora. "Please."

Sora had insisted they stay until Riku and Kairi had left. Riku still hadn't admitted to anything wrong but he did look a little better when Sora saw him off. Kairi had denied knowing anything.

"What about your mission then?" Sora asked her as Donald opened the passenger side door to her transport vessel and he hoped the annoyance didn't shine through in his voice.

"It's a secret." She said with a wink and smile before she climbed into the ship.

They each had agreed that goodbyes were off limits. Good byes meant something none of them wanted to think about. But as Sora watched Kairi's ship float into the air and then disappear in a flash of light and smoke, he wished there was another word to let her know that he would miss her.

-x-

Leon and Sora flew in comfortable silence. "Anything else you want to talk about?" Leon asked after a couple of hours.

Sora shook his head, "Nope, nothing left except the mission."

Leon landed the plane above a huge drawbridge that led up to the castle. He opened a compartment on the floor of the ship and threw out a rope latter.

"Here" He handed Sora a small bracelet. "It's a hologram messenger. If we need to get a hold of you, we'll call you on this." Sora took the bracelet slipped it on to his wrist. "Kairi and Riku have one too. Just say their name into the speaker and it'll call them."

Sora sighed. At least they weren't further than a call away. "Thanks Leon. For everything."

Leon slapped his shoulder. "Anytime, kid."

Sora rolled his eyes and smiled.

-x-

Sora walked along the long drawbridge, his brown spikey hair moving with the wind. His friends had gone off, to where, he had no idea and worry pulled at his gut that he they had already begun to drift apart. It was enough to make him sick.

Sora's mind was so cluttered with thoughts of his friends and of their new enemy; he didn't look up once as the castle rose before him. His thoughts were nowhere near the stranger in a black hood, perched in a castle window, watching his every move.

-x-

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the story thus far; it's much appreciated. Also a friendly reminder, reviews never go out of style! : )


	6. First Step

\- First Step -

Riku didn't know where the ship was taking him but he wasn't excited to get there. The King had sent Riku to a friend of his but he didn't know the reason behind it. Was he supposed to pick something up? Was he guarding him the same way Sora was guarding one of the princesses? These were some of the lighter questions flying through Riku's head. The darker ones consisted of Mickey noticing Riku's darkness and exterminating the problem. He pushed that one to the back of his head. The King was his friend; he wouldn't do anything to hurt him. _Right?_

The worst part of it was not being able to talk to Sora. It didn't make any of this easier, knowing that his best friend couldn't help him. Sora didn't understand what it was like to be tempted by darkness. He had always represented good, stood firmly on the right side while Riku floated in the balance. It was one reason Riku loved being around Sora so much; he cast a glow that seemed to keep the darkness at bay. Riku liked that feeling.

It seemed like forever and no time at all until Riku climbed down the rope ladder, the hologram watch wrapped tight around his wrist. His ship dropped him somewhere deep in the jungle. It reminded Riku somewhat of Trazan's home but not as humid. He jumped the final step and landed on the ground with a thud, which left solid footprints in the high grass around him. The plane flew off instantly.

"Bye, then." Riku said to himself before he looked around. It was darker on the ground than it had been in the plane, Riku had to squint his eyes to see around him. The foliage was extremely thick, the trees came in so close, the ship couldn't come within 50 feet of the ground.

Riku had jumped right next to a small dirt circle, which connected a thin dirt path that led into the heart of the jungle. Riku looked all around him, for instructions or a guide, he didn't know.

"Well, here goes nothing." Riku pulled his shoulders back and followed the thin path into the forest.

-x-

Kairi didn't like planes and she wasn't a fan of flying through space. Her hands gripped the sides of her seat with such vigor her knuckles were turning white and a feeling of nausea had taken up residency in her stomach.

Donald must not have noticed because the more they flew, the more wild his movements became as he complained about Yen Sid. Kairi agreed with Donald at the appropriate times but her thoughts were with Riku. She hoped the King sent him to get help; he shouldn't fight in his condition. It killed Kairi that she couldn't be with him but Mickey had impressed upon her the importance of her first mission. This was her chance to prove herself, to prove that she could handle this fight, just like the rest of them.

Donald began to approach a dark world and landed the Gummi Ship onto a wide clearing. Kairi peered out the window and looked around. No dust rose from their landing and there were no plants on the ground, just hard, solid, cold earth.

"Where are we?" She asked, concerned she had been taken to the wrong world.

"The Grid." Donald took the keys from the ignition and pulled a bag from underneath his seat. "You'll need these."

-x-

After a gracious ceremony and an extravagant dinner (Sora decided he could get used that part), a maid delivered him to his bedroom. The keyblade wielder had tried to convince her that he could find it on his own but the woman had insisted. After a thousand thank you's, the woman left Sora in his new quarters.

Sora wasn't happy with the King's assignments. The 'Welcome to Court' had been nice; he had been showered with flowers from all of the people that lived in the castle. Aurora herself had given Sora a kiss on each cheek in thanks for his previous triumphs and gratitude for coming now. It was almost enough to make Sora feel guilty for not wanting to be there. Almost.

Riku wasn't well and it made Sora nervous that he couldn't be there. He had checked his hologram bracelet every 5 minutes since he'd landed to see if he had missed a call from Kairi or Riku. He felt so in the dark. Where had the King sent him? And where was Kairi? They had promised each other that they would stay together and they were already in different worlds.

Sora had stayed in a lot of castles lately and he knew he was going to miss his own bedroom soon. Where Disney Castle had been comfortable and warm with it's overstuffed furniture and velvet walls, his bedroom at the Enchanted Dominion was cold and unfeeling. The walls were all grey stone, which made the whole bedroom feel like a concrete statue and his furniture was thin and stiff. There was a large canopy over his four-poster bed with curtains in a deep royal purple and at the end there was a small bench, which Sora sat on, debating whether to call Kairi or Riku.

"They're probably busy." Sora took off the hologram bracelet, tossed it on the bed behind him and lay down on the small bench. He found himself face staring at a huge portrait of an extremely fat man whom Sora assumed to be the King of this world. He turned onto his back and looked at the ceiling, not able to think of anything else to do. Sora hoped Riku and Kairi were at least doing something more interesting.

-x-

The sweat dripped into Riku's eyes and he wiped his dirt covered hand across his forehead so he could see. It didn't matter at this point, anyway, he had been following the path for hours and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. Even with a path, his hands were shredded from the mysterious plants he had to cut his way through. Snakes slithered over his feet and bugs flew around him in swarms and Riku debated if it would all just be easier to sit down where he was and wait until he sank into the jungle. But he pressed on with the added weight of anger and resentment, the reunion present from Maleficent.

 _Would it of been different for Kairi, if Maleficent had chosen her?_

 _I'm different than they are. They're good._

And a surprise safari wasn't helping his faith in the mysterious plan he was being forced to follow. If he had to create a list of scenarios he hoped to never face, fighting his inner darkness in 119-degree weather would be close to the top.

Riku looked to the sky through the trees and his eyes adjusted to the setting sun. He had no idea what time it had been when he'd landed but he didn't want it to get dark, not before he made it to his destination. Whatever that may be. Behind him the newly blazed trail had almost disappeared. All the plants he had broken were now in perfect condition.

"Looks like the only way to go is forward." Riku said aloud. Part of him wondered if it was just to hear the sound of someone's voice, even if it was his own. "They could at least of sent me some water." He muttered.

Hours later and if Riku hadn't been feeling well before, now, he was nearing death. His mouth felt like leather and his skin was raw and covered in bloody soars from the sun. His feet were blistered and there was a shooting pain accompanied with each step he took. But all that would have been tolerable if it wasn't for the searing pain inside him.

The darkness Maleficent had planted seemed to be growing and without his friends, it was getting worse. Riku stopped to catch his breath and doubled over with his hands resting on his knees. His breaths were slow but his body still protested it's abuse and he was forced to turn from the path to throw up in the bushes. He clenched his heart and winced. He needed to find a solution and he needed to find it soon, otherwise he wouldn't have to worry about the darkness overcoming him, dehydration and exposure would kill him just fine. He sat on the jungle floor, his back against a tree and closed his eyes.

-x-

The Grid was unlike anything Kairi had ever seen before. At first, she thought the world had fallen into darkness but she knew that couldn't be right. The King had said she would find somebody here who might have important information. If that was the case, Kairi was going to get it by any means necessary.

Donald pulled a garment bag from the storage compartment and insisted Kairi get a move on. Inside there was a pair of ridiculously high heels and a mid thigh, skintight black dress made out of a material that Kairi couldn't place. It moved like rubber, felt like silk but bound her like leather.

"Seriously?" Kairi held the dress out for Donald to see, as if he'd realize his foolish mistake. But she was assured that this was the attire of the world so after an hour in the bathroom, half a bottle of baby powder and some strenuous pulling, she emerged 6 inches taller and much worse for the experience. "I feel this mission has an air of sexism." She quipped.

Kairi wasn't surprised that it was hard to walk in the shoes but when Donald began to lead her from the ship and walk her closer to the city, she didn't know how she was going to be able to fight, should the occasion arise. Even more so was the dress that threatened to ride up. The sides had small square cut outs and a thin light line that travelled around the dress which led to the back which held a round, empty port.

Donald grabbed a large black disk and fitted it to Kairi's back.

"What's that?" Kairi asked.

Donald pushed the disk on and it illuminated the dress. "It's an Identity disc, or a light disc. It's how people here store their information."

Kairi tried to look over her shoulder. She'd never heard of anything like an information disk and she wasn't completely onboard with the idea. Did it know what she was thinking? She reached behind her back and fingered the cool metal. It was like she was wearing her own spy cam.

At a certain point, Donald seemed to think he had taken her far enough. He grabbed Kair's arm and straightened her up. "I can't go with you." Donald said. "They aren't familiar with people from my world."

Kairi's planted her heels in the ground, stopping them both. "Aren't familiar? You've travelled to a bunch of different worlds and it's all been okay."

"The King is being extra careful. No unsolicited contact with worlds and I don't think Zuse is particularly fond of ducks." Donald grabbed Kairi's hand one final time to steady her and pointed to the city. "Up there is Tron City. You need to find the End of Line Club. Ask for a guy named…"

"Zuse?" Kairi giggled..

Donald nodded. "Yes, Zuse. Tell him who sent you and he'll tell you what you need to know."

"How are we even here?" She wondered. "Sora said he had to travel through a computer system last time and I don't remember that happening."

If ducks could smile, that's what Donald would have done. "We've been upgrading the ship, experimenting with new technology."

Kairi raised her brow. "That doesn't sound like the type of thing 'extra careful Mickey' would approve of."

"He was the one who requested it!" He said matter-of-fact. "Digital drift makes the transition from the physical easy without having to stop in one place." Donald started to usher her toward the city. "You have to go now. Call me when you're done."

"On what?"

-x-

A full moon traded places with the sun and cast a faint glow on the jungle floor where it broke through the trees. Lost to exhaustion, Riku barely managed to open his eyes and his heart sunk when he realized night had fallen. When he'd risen and returned to the path, there was no indication of which direction he had come from.

"Shit." He groaned and kicked up a clod of dirt.

There was a release in his chest and a wave of regret at his outburst and as if waiting for the dirt's request for an apology, Riku's eyes stayed focused on the ground. The outline of the leaves was painted beautifully with the light of the moon but Riku noticed an oddity among them. Among the thousands of silhouettes, only one was comprised completely of straight lines. He followed the path of light from the ground, through the trees and up to the sky where he could make out a heavy moon, perched behind a golden acropolis.

"Shelter." Riku said to himself. He could feel the exhaustion override his thoughts but he pushed through the thick jungle, the distant building was the only thing on his mind.

Up ahead, Riku could make out a break in the trees until he burst into a huge clearing that served as a sort of courtyard. To his relief, the temple was on the other side of the field and it seemed to absorb the beams of the moon and covert them to sunlight. Blending into it's surroundings, the temple rose to the same levels as the trees that surrounded it and even in the nighttime, it's brilliant copper walls glimmered in the moonlight.

Thousands of steps were stacked on one another from the jungle floor to the entrance, near the top of the tower. It wouldn't be an easy climb, the steps were tall and dense, moving almost vertically. Riku took a deep breath but a rush of blood to his head caused his shaking legs to give out from under him and he fell to his knees. His journey was taking it's toll. The last thing he saw was the distant temple entrance that fading away. He cursed himself for having come so close and failing.

 _At least it's over now._

-x-

The moment Donald had disappeared from sight; Kairi sat herself on a hidden boulder, took off her shoes and massaged her tired and bloody feet. The city didn't seem any closer and her legs quivered at the idea of having to make the rest of the trek. Couldn't Donald have parked a little closer to the city?

And the watch he'd left her with stuck out in all the wrong ways. It was black and clunky, with a big green dial and a Velcro band that looked ridiculous next to her latex prison. But she was happy to have it, it made her feel connected with Sora and Riku, knowing they were just a call away.

 _I wonder what the boys are up to._

There was a tightening in her stomach and she strapped her shoes back on. She had to hurry, if Riku or Sora ran into trouble on their missions, she wanted to be there. And before that could happen she had to cross the hard, black desert. She took her first step and felt a blister pop on her heel but managed to stifle her scream. Then she took her second step.

-x-

The first thing he felt was the warmth all around him and it reminded him of home. On the hot summer nights, him, Kairi and Sora would walk along the pier together, the ocean and sky coming together in a space less void and it felt like the universe belonged to them.

Riku's eyes flew open at the maddening pain that wound through his body like a snake as he awoke. The warm feeling soon turned scalding and Riku almost screamed when he looked down to his arms. He had been burnt raw and the skin that remained had become a feast for the rat-sized bugs.

His heart dropped when he realized it was grass he felt beneath him, the left half of his face and front of his body were covered in a thick coat of dirt. He half hoped he would wake up in the acropolis or not at all but it seemed he was meant to finish this journey. Moving slowly, he placed his hands on his side, wincing just from the dirt beneath his palms and pushed himself onto all fours. There was a shooting pain in his knee and he was forced to roll back to the floor and bite into his sleeve.

 _No, no, no._

Falling asleep and hoping to never wake up was different than attending your own decomposition. He couldn't die like this, broken and pathetic in the dirt while he waited for the jungle to claim him. But what other choice did his injury give him? With a deep breath, Riku sat upright and demanded his uninjured leg support him as he stood and shifted his weight so he could manage a hobble. Riku stepped down in a full step, hoping by some miracle, he would be able to walk.

Then, from his leg, came the feeling of a thousand threads coming together. His heart raced but when he looked to his knee, he had to stop himself from crying. It seemed one magical feature of the fairy made clothes was to help with minor injuries and he wished he could hug the three squat women. There was still a feeling of unsteadiness, like he was about to throw up again but approached the base of the stairs.

 _Why would the king send me here?_

The stairs to the temple soared high in the sky above Riku and he looked to the top longingly. He was sure this was where he was supposed to be but whether it was possible was a different story.

The first step was the hardest. A fire erupted inside of Riku but he clenched his jaw and pushed on to mount the second step.

-x-

The streets of Tron City were dark and abandoned. Occasionally, Kairi would see a girl walk by in a similar outfit to her own or a man in a full body suit but these people appeared quickly and disappeared even faster.

Just when she was starting to wonder how she was going to find the club, a young blond woman stepped out from behind an alley. She was perfect, Kairi noticed, with beautiful bone structure and a clear umbrella.

"Are you Kairi?" the woman asked, her face devoid of any emotion.

"Uh..." she didn't know if this was an undercover assignment. Kairi squinted her eyes at the girl and weighed her options. She could say no and watch the girl leave or say yes and maybe fall into a trap. She figured at least a trap was progress. "Yes. I'm looking for…"

The girl nodded. "Zuse. I've been sent to collect you." The girl turned on her heel and started down the street. Kairi stumbled behind her.

"Who are you?" Kairi asked.

The girl looked over her shoulder. "I'm Gem. And you need to pick up the pace."

-x-

It was the first time Kairi had ever been in a nightclub and she couldn't imagine any other could compare to this one. Everything was beautiful in the clean, sharp style of this world. The light that illuminated from her dress also illuminated from every piece of furniture, the floor and like a long ribbon, connected the small smattering of patrons that didn't seem to notice Kairi enter.

Gem strutted right to the bar and turned sharply.

"He's right up those stairs." Gem pointed to a staircase on the opposite side of the room while giving Kairi the once over. The corners of her mouth turned into an amused smile. "Good luck."

Kairi rolled her eyes. She didn't care for Gem. "Thanks."

-x-

"Hello my dear." Came an eccentric voice from a small collection of couches on the far side of the room. The top of the club was just as spectacular as below. The walls were darker but the floor was a constant source of light and Kairi crossed the landing to the small party.

At first, Kairi figured Zuse wasn't here. There were only seven people in the VIP area with her. Six scantily clad women and one pale, thin, white haired man.

"Is one of you… Zuse?" Kairi asked, uncertain.

The girls on the couch giggled and Zuse rolled his eyes. "That's enough, girls. Why don't you give me and our little tourist a minute to talk?"

They didn't move at first but Zuse shot them all jumped up and vanished.

Legs wide and arms on the back of a clean white sofa sat Zuse, a wide smile plastered on skin so pale, he looked like he was covered in ice.

Kairi gulped. "Hello. I'm Kairi. Someone told you I was coming?"

Zuse smiled to himself and stood. His arm outstretched, he made a show of a grand hand gesture followed by a dramatic bow. "I am Zuse, here to help you." Zuse didn't rise from his bow.

Kairi felt uncomfortable. "Nice to meet you."

Zuse flipped his head back, his hair not moving in the least. "I'm sure."

 _Why would the King send me to this psychopath?_

"Now!" Zuse rose and gestured to a seat on the couch. "What would you like to talk about?"

Kairi sat down on the seat offered, which turned out to be trickier in her binding dress than she thought possible. Zuse sat next to her, closer than she would have liked. She could feel his leg touching hers.

"The King wants to know what you know. About everything." Kairi said with resolve. She hoped she could be taken more seriously than she felt.

Zuse shook his head and laughed. "I know everything. That's not the right question to ask."

Kairi started to speak but Zuse put his finger in front to her lips. "I only answer questions that are asked and the only questions worth answering are the rights ones.

 _He's not going to make this easy._

The first and most obvious question made itself known. "Do you know what has caused the darkness to stir?"

Zuse clapped his hands. "Right girl! Now you're getting it!" His eyeliner-adorned eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree. "But unfortunately that's a question without an answer." He still looked elated.

Kairi was annoyed. "If there is any information that you have...that could help."

Zuse shook his finger at her. "Right questions only."

The King had pressed the urgency of this mission and now it was turning out to be for nothing. What questions could she ask? Why had Mickey sent her here of all places? It wasn't even real; it was all-

"Digital!" she cried. Leon had told them the restoration committee was trying to find more about the darkness by hacking into a computer system. This is why she had been sent. The information Kairi needed had passed through this world.

"Yes!" cried Zuse. He jumped up and did a little dance. "What about digital?" He plopped back down on the couch.

Kairi didn't know where to go from here. "I don't understand." Kairi looked Zuse's eyes. "The digital world isn't real, how can it be apart of this?"

Zuse rolled his eyes so dramatically; he brought the rest of his head with him. "The digital world is just as real as you and me. Aren't we talking together right now?"

"Yes." She said tentatively. "But you're a program, you were designed."

Zuse leapt up from the couch again and gestured wildly with his arms. "Don't you see? We're all designed! Origin doesn't matter! Not anymore! What's the difference between a couple key strokes and genes?"

Kairi's head hurt. "But if that's true, once people died they could just keep…"

"Coming back?" Zuse's eyebrow rose.

Kairi felt like she was hit with a ton of bricks. Maleficent was supposed to be dead. Sora said she had been buried by the nobodies in the World that Never Was but she knew from the way Riku had looked the next day that he hadn't been dealing with a digital imposter. He had dealt with the mistress of darkness.

"How?" Kairi's stomach bubbled. "How did they become real?"

Zuse started to laugh again. "How did you become digital?"

The new software Donald had mentioned, it was a two way street. "Could somebody ever acquire enough detail to create a pre existing person from scratch in the digital world? The memories? The way they look? Emotions? It would be impossible!"

Zuse shook his head. "I would have though you would have ruled out the impossible by now. No, my dear, it isn't impossible. Especially with the magic your kind possesses. Unfortunately, we live in an age where the theory of impossible has been disproven."

Kairi shook her head. "So who created them?" Kairi took a mental inventory. Maleficent, the Phantoms and maybe Sepiroth. Evil creatures that were supposed to be dead but had found a way back.

"Ah, that I do not know. There has been a rumbling of late. A new creator has entered our midst who calls themselves The Reborn. At first, I searched for them, followed a whisper here and there. It was rumored this user brought a new software with them. Something we all want. The dream."

"To be real." Kairi said quietly.

"Exactly! But when I would follow a trail, it would dry up. When I would get a call to meet, people would disappear. Soon, The Reborn wasn't something you wanted to seek out, it was the thing you feared getting close too. Of course, I still keep my ear to the ground, listening for rumors of their return."

"They're gone?" Thought Kairi out loud.

Zuse shrugged. "Some say yes and others no."

Kairi fidgeted in her seat as if the leader of The Reborn was listening to them right now. "The people they're bringing back… Do they remember? You know… dying?"

Zuse tilted his head to the side and made a mock look of sadness. "Of course they remember."

"How? Tell me what you know!" Kairi wanted to explode; she was done playing Zuse's stupid games.

Zuse resumed his position next to Kairi and crossed his legs. He draped his arm around her shoulder and leaned in close. "Memories are chains aren't they? If I tell you to think of your worst fear, what do you do?"

"Imagine it." Kairi winced.

"Exactly. Create something accurate enough, put the chain in the right order; they'll know what happened to them. For all intensive purposes, those that died as a consequence of your last adventure are alive again. And they remember everything."

-x-


	7. A New Perspective

\- A New Perspective -

Sora looked skyward to see a million stars rain from above and burn out before they hit earth. He knew this sight, there was nothing like it in the entire universe. He was watching The Star Falling. How was this possible? When had he come back?

 _Sora_

The voice came from behind him but when Sora turned, there was nothing but darkness.

Suddenly, all the stars extinguished and Sora was cast into a world of black. The fear overtook him. He didn't know how to escape and pieces of his memory were slipping away. His friends were counting on him but he couldn't move, couldn't breath and just when he thought he would be lost in the void forever, he heard the voice again.

 _Sora_

In the distance, there was a speck of light. Sora ran toward it tried to call out to whoever was there but he couldn't make a sound.

The light began to fade.

" _Sora."_

The voice was closer and right behind him was the old man from The Star Gazer festival. He looked just as old and decrepit as that day on Destiny Island but with an added, amused smile.

" _Forget something_?" He asked and brought something between his robes.

" _Sometimes,"_ he said held up the blue glass lenses, " _we just need a change of perspective."_

He brought the glass to Sora's eye and the world wasn't dark anymore. With an electric blue glow, the stars had returned to the sky and fell more forcefully. And behind the man, where nothing had been before, Sora could now see hundreds of people, all angry, all dead, and all staring right at him.

" _Looks like you have your work cut out for you."_ The Old Man still displayed his rotten teeth in a twisted smile but there was something more, pity maybe?

The glass was torn away from Sora's eye and the people disappeared, the stars went out and the Old Man became the decomposed body Sora had seen inside the Phantom's cloaks.

But the smile remained. " _Better get started."_

-x-

Sora was ripped from sleep by a loud honking next to his ear. Standing over him with a look of pride was a rather small man with a rather large trumpet.

"Time for breakfast!" He announced with his eyes closed and nose upturned.

"Uh.. Thank you." Sora said and tried to hide his annoyance. The trumpet player nodded and marched from the room, probably to traumatize the rest of the castle.

Sora relaxed back into bed and took a deep breath. He'd been having the oddest dream. There had been The Star Falling and… he couldn't remember much else but he had the feeling he was forgetting something.

-x-

After a three-hour breakfast, Sora found his schedule extremely clear. Mickey had sent him to watch after Aurora but he never suggested to Sora what he should do in the mean time and Sora found there weren't many activities in The Enchanted Dominion.

He toured the castle for a bit, finding it more like a maze than anything. There were dark passages that stemmed from nowhere and ended in the kitchens, and winding staircases that seemed to go nowhere at all. Sora noted these weren't enchantments, they were diversions. Once he had lost himself within the corridors, a development Sora wasn't totally unhappy with, he was left to wonder about his friends.

The watch felt heavy on his wrist all the sudden and he loosened it for good measure.

 _They'll call when they're ready, right?_

But Sora wasn't so sure.

-x-

Lunch was to be served promptly at mid-day and Sora was already seated at the long dining table when the food was brought out from the kitchens, deciding to finish his inspection of the castle with the exterior after he'd eaten. So when his Holo-Watch chirped 2 pm, Sora was just exiting the castle, almost too full to walk.

The Enchanted Dominion was essentially a stronghold castle with a natural mote and drawbridge that opened up onto the long bridge that stood over the lake. Wildflowers grew along the banks of the castle and they followed the banks until they skirted the waters edge and disappeared into the horizon. On the other side of the grand bridge was the forest, which Sora had been warned not to enter. It was rumored that Maleficent's old strong hold was on the other side and, while she had been gone for years, many said there was still an evil spirit that protected the witches' castle. It was the most interesting thing on this planet but Sora had to fight the urge to explore. He needed to stay near the princess, which was the job he had been given.

Sora grabbed a rock from the floor of the bridge. The King had sent him here to wait for an attack and that was exactly what he was doing, waiting. Wasting time until something happened. Sora didn't like it. He couldn't decide if the King was trying to remove Sora from the equation or if there just weren't enough jobs to go around. He threw the rock off the side of the bridge, summoned his keyblade and when the rock had reached it's highest point in the sky, Sora took aim.

"Fire!" He yelled and a blazing bullet collided with the rock in mid-air, which resulted in an explosion of dirt.

"You're very talented." Aurora seemed to sing.

Sora turned and nearly fell into a bow. "I'm sorry, your Highness. I didn't see you there."

Of the seven Princesses of Heart, Sora knew four of them personally, never having visted the worlds of Snow White, Cinderella or Aurora before. But there was a connection between them, a calming aura that seemed to flow through them naturally. Sora guessed it was from their connection to the light.

Aurora tipped her head and smiled. "You're very talented."

While not heavily adorned, there was no mistaking Aurora for anything but royalty. On the day of Sora's arrival, the Princess had worn a long blue dress with a white collar, and of course, her golden crown. Today, she had opted for a silk dress with a small train and a constructed bodice. The thread was a mixture of peacock blues and emerald greens which was the perfect compliment to her fair skin, yellow hair and the tiara that glimmered in the sun as she stood next to Sora and pressed herself against the ledge.

"Thank you, your Highness." Sora said, unsure of how to act. "I hope my talents will serve you well."

Aurora smiled to herself. "And how do they serve you?"

"Excuse me?" Sora asked.

"You've been troubled since your arrival." It wasn't a question.

Sora looked to Aurora and was about to protest but stopped when he saw her face. He could lie to himself but not to her. Instead he nodded and followed her gaze to the horizon. "I don't feel like I'm doing any good here." He confessed. "A war is beginning and I should be putting a stop to it before it gets worse."

"You're a brave warrior, Sora. I know that's why the King Mickey sent you." Aurora looked down for a moment, her crown flinging light in every direction. "Have you ever been told the story of my Coronation?

Sora shook his head.

"I was born to a very loving Mother and Father, both who were so excited to have a child, they invited the entire Kingdom to celebrate." Aurora seemed to go tense. "-Except for one."

Sora sighed. "Let me guess."

She smiled slightly. "Magic has existed for thousands of years in the Enchanted Dominion but it was only practiced by a few. The Court had 3 fairies that had served the castle for years. But there was a fourth who possessed the predisposition for magic and had begun to grow resentful of the restrictions put on her cultivation of power. When it was discovered that she had experimented with dangerous magics, her materials were destroyed, her rank stripped and my Father exiled her from court."

Aurora gulped and Sora felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Maleficent came for me at the celebration of my birth. As her own token of affection, she deemed that on my 18th birthday, I was to prick my finger on a spinning wheel and die." She gave a light smile but her eyes were heartbreaking. "Not even old enough to realize I was alive and I was already marked for death. But the fairies had one gift left to give and they were able to dilute the spell so I wouldn't die, I would fall into a deep sleep and only true loves kiss would be able to wake me."

Sora hung on her every syllable. "Why… why true loves kiss?"

"Because only true love could break a spell woven so seamlessly with hate." The Princess glided from the ledge and began to saunter toward the forest. Sora took his step beside her. "My Father, so stricken with fear, commanded the fairies to raise me in the deepest part of the forest, hide my identity and keep me safe until my 18th birthday had passed. Maleficent's spell had worked without an ounce of magic. My entire life, I never knew my parents because of what she had done, I had never even met another person until, by chance, Philip and I crossed paths in the forest and I knew my heart belonged to him."

"For the first time, I was happy. And then, that night, the fairies told me about the curse, and my birthright and that I would never see the boy I had met in the forest ever again."

"My birthday was only a few days away and I had a choice to make. I could fulfill my destiny and pay a price I should never of had to pay, or I could reject it all and wait in the forest for Phillip to return. Begrudgingly, we left the only home I had ever known and to a life I was told was mine but had no connection to. But, even after I knew of the curse and what could befall me, I wasn't afraid because I knew, somehow, someway, Phillip would find me and our love would break the curse."

They reached the end of the drawbridge where the path turned from stone to dirt and the foliage of the forest wrapped around it like a portal into another world. "I begged the King to give you another assignment because I agree, I don't think you're needed here." They both looked into the green unknown. "No matter what comes, I'll have Phillip with me, and I'll be safe." She smiled then started back toward the castle.

Sora paused. "Wait!" He cried and Aurora turned. "How can you be so sure that he'll be able to keep you safe?! You've seen what's out there and the terrible things that happen to good people." She stepped toward him.

Sora crossed his arms over his chest and his voiced dropped to a whisper. There were tears in his eyes when he braved to look back at the Princess. "How do you find peace with the ones you love when it could all be taken away tomorrow?"

With a soft smile, Aurora wiped a fallen tear from his cheek, laced her arm around his own and began to guide him back toward the castle. A warm breeze came in from the valley and seemed to carry Aurora's voice all around them. "You just have to have faith."

-x-

Zuse had given Kairi a lot to think about. She had gotten out of there as quickly as possible, ignoring Gem seated at the bar and retraced her steps back to the Gummi Ship. Once she had made it to the rough terrain, Kairi had shed her shoes and had run at full speed to tell Donald everything.

"Are you sure?" Donald yelled.

Kairi nodded and looked out the window as they took off from the Grid. "It's the technology that you have been using. The technology hat turns the physical into the digital." As the rose from the planet, it seemed to disappear in a cloud of ones and zeros. "Somebody has found out how to reverse it, to bring back the dead."

-x-

"He said they remember everything?" asked the King.

Kairi nodded. "Yes. He said that they're back for real." Donald and Mickey exchange a looks.

"You've done excellent Kairi." The King smiled. "I'm proud of you." Kairi smiled despite the circumstances. "Why don't you go get some sleep? I'm sure you've had a long night."

Kairi gave a slight bow to the group and left the room, the heavy door slamming shut behind her. She sucked in the morning air and took a short detour to the gardens. Even after the Sephiroth meeting, the bench in the garden was still her favorite place. It felt safe. She knew part of the reason was because that was where Sora, Riku, and her had made their oath to one another, to stay together.

She perched herself on the concrete bench and looked at the watch on her wrist. Unable to think of a better time, she brought he wrist to her lips. "Call Sora."

The watch opened and a small green screen projected itself in the air above Kairi's wrist, the word "calling" displayed clearly. It rang for a couple seconds then, the screen changed to Sora's excited and relieved face.

"Kairi!" He shouted. "Where are you? Are you okay? What happened on your mission?!"

Kairi giggled. Sora was always so eager to help. It was one of the things she loved most about him. Her laughter was short lived when she remember the news. She wasn't excited too excited to share.

"They're… bringing back the dead through a computer?" Sora rolled the words over, one by one, shivering when he spoke. "From something we created?"

"It gets more incredible the more I hear it. What about you?" She inquired. "What's been happening there?"

Sora looked behind him and turned back to the screen. "Just in my room right now, waiting for an attack I suppose. So unless you count 6 meals a day as something happening, then no."

"You must be happy there." Both of them laughed.

"Anything from Riku?" Sora prodded.

A wave of guilt overcame Kairi. Sora had no idea what was going on and it made her feel sick to keep secrets from him. But Riku said he didn't want Sora to know and that was something she wanted to respect.

"I haven't heard from him. I was going to call him after I talked to you, figure I would give you a heads up." Even Kairi thought she sounded distant.

"Thanks… I needed something to think about." Sora gave his watch a nervous smile. "Have you noticed… something off about Riku lately? I know he's been saying he hasn't been feeling well but ever since the other night he's been acting weird." The concern on Sora's face made Kairi want to cry.

"A little, I guess." She scratched the back of her head. "Look, I have to go. The King needs to see me."

 _Great, now I'm lying to him, too._

They said their goodbyes and Kairi hung up the chat. She debated calling Riku but ultimately decided against it. If he was getting the help he needed, she didn't want to interrupt that. So, with a push off the concrete bench, she allowed herself a leisurely lunch in the dining hall.

-x-

From the steps of the acropolis, Riku watched the sun begin its migration and pull it's sheet of pink and blue across the sky, staining the green leaves a subtle orange. The entrance to the Acropolis didn't seem to be getting any closer but when Riku had sat to rest, he felt miles from the ground.

There was a nagging in the back of his head that had plagued him with every step he took; and when the air started to thicken with humidity, he knew morning was close. So he sat, seemingly stuck between the ground and sky but not belonging to either.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Came a voice to his right.

He nodded. "Somebody once told me that all the planets share one sky. At the time, I didn't think the sky could change the way it does. Each planet's sky is so different."

Riku and Maleficent sat together, and watched the sunrise.

"You don't seem surprised to see me." She said after a moment.

"I figured you would come."

He didn't have to see Maleficent to know she was smiling at him.

"So, why don't you just tell me what you want?" He said coolly.

Even Maleficent's giggle seemed riddled with ulterior motive. "I was going to ask you the same question."

Maybe it was the heat, or the exhaustion, or maybe Riku was just so desperate to talk with someone who understood but something inside of him cracked.

"Will it ever get any better?" He chocked out. "Will the pain ever go away?"

Maleficent sighed and looked back to the sunrise. The first sun came into full view and pulled the second up to the horizon. "I wondered the same thing in my youth. And no, it doesn't get any better."

Riku clenched his jaw. "You have to say that."

"You were the one who asked. When have I ever lied to you, Riku?"

Riku snapped. "Fuck you." And Maleficent looked satisfied. "I'm sorry I asked."

"I used to be a lot like you. Well, not as… _punchy."_

Riku rolled his eyes.

"They don't recount that part of my story anymore, though. It's easier to see the world in black and white when the things we don't understand are the enemy." Her voiced slithered through him like a snake.

"I really don't care." Riku wondered if she would have taken him more seriously if he had stood.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" Maleficent mocked. "Now, where was I?"

Riku didn't interrupt.

-x-

"Attention!" Cried the small trumpet man as he barged into Sora's room. Sora looked up from his spot at the window, overlooking the castle grounds.

"Here!" Sora called back.

The small man didn't seem to notice, or care, about Sora's formalities. "His Royal Highness would like to challenge thee to a duel. Do you accept?"

"A... a duel?" Sora asked questioningly. "With Phillip?"

The man nodded and his brown hair bobbed. "Yes, his majesty has invited you to participate in a gentleman's duel. Do you accept?"

Sora smiled.

 _It must have been the work of Aurora_

Sora reminded himself to thank her later. "That would be great!" He beamed. "What time?"

Noon struck and Sora was made his way down to the training center. More members of the court than Sora had seen at once were going in the same direction as him.

"Lovely day for a duel!" One old woman commented to another.

Sora froze. _People are going to watch?_

Massive wooden stands had been erected around the training area with important looking men mingling with uptight looking woman on stands that lined the entire field. And the stands were quickly becoming full. In the middle, a sparring ring was painted on the dirt with two racks of blunt weapons on either side.

Sora spotted Aurora in the middle bleachers covered by an overhang, smiling to herself. He jogged at the base of the stands.

"Uh… Princess?" He called.

Aurora looked down and her smile grew dramatically. "Sora, lovely day for a duel isn't it?"

Sora scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, so I hear. I didn't know all these people would be here…"

This didn't seem to bother Aurora, "Oh yes. Once it was known the prince would be dueling today, the entire castle made it their priority to attend!"

"About all the people showing up part, I think this would be a good time to tell you I haven't really fought in a while." Sora's cheeks flushed, he felt bad complaining about something Aurora had done for him.

A hand appeared on Sora's shoulder and found Phillip beside him, wearing the same bright smile as his wife. "Are you ready for the duel?"

Sora looked between the two and he knew he couldn't say no. "Yeah, I am." He followed Phillip to the weapon racks.

-x-

"I have always had a predisposition for the supernatural. By the time I could walk, my power had grown beyond what my parents could keep a secret and rumors spread through our village as to what I was. A few years later, when the Castle Guard came for me, my parents thought it was to kill me. They were pleasantly surprised when they were made rich in exchange for me.

"I'd always known I was destined for great things and that my parents would ultimately hold me back so I rejoiced when I was loaded into the carriage; and when the castle appear on the skyline, it was the happiest moment of my life.

"By now, you've met those insufferable fairies." Maleficent rolled her eyes. "Well… they've always been like that. Noble, weak and ignorant. They helped raise me, taught me the ways of light magic and by the time I was full grown, I had become more powerful than all of them combined. I didn't know why they looked at me the way they did.

"But I yearned for… more. There was something inside me that couldn't be appeased, something powerful. I hid my desires. And I was made to feel like _I_ was the crazy one. But the call was too strong and, as we all do, sooner of later, I relented to the black in my heart, I dared accept a part of myself that felt as natural as breathing. And then something amazing happened… I felt better.

"I thought I had made a grand discovery and I dared to tell my mentor's of what I'd learned. It was then I understood why they looked at me the way they did. They were frightened. I was the only one strong enough to acknowledge the darkness and return to the light. I knew then, I could never practice what I needed to within the Castle walls. It still seems odd to me; how those who practice good magic claim to be it's master, when they deny half of who they are.

"On the far side of the forest, there was a Castle all of King Stephan's subjects were too afraid to enter. It was said, thousands of years ago, a powerful witch from a distant land traveled here through a hidden door; seeking refuge from her exile. She gathered the last of the planet's raw, molten earth; crafted it into a grand castle and froze it in time with a kiss of ice.

"I constructed a rudimentary study there. Far from the luxuries I had grown accustomed to, I was able to discover things about myself, and about dark magic, without the constant prying. My power grew exponentially, I felt connected to every blade of grass and every drop of water.

"Eventually, of course, they realized what I had been up to and stormed the castle. They took all my diaries, spell books, and materials. Ingredients I had spent years procuring and creating were smashed on the floor in front of me and all I had come to learn about myself was destroyed. I had never raised a finger against them but they beat me within an inch of my life and left me for dead… because of fear.

"Sometimes, I wonder, if someone had accepted me and the way I felt, would I have rejected the light as I have? But it's not in the nature of good to understand evil… and that's what they'll never accept you. I lay on the ground of my gnarled sanctuary for days, trying to make sense of the world, when one thought made me strong again and I finally saw the world for what it was. Good and evil, as we understand them, are just a matter of perspective."

-x-

Two small guards had placed Sora on the opposite side of the circle as Philip. It was hot and the sweat from his palm caused the keyblade to slip from his hand. There came the sound of a trumpet and a severe looking man rose from the stands, a scroll held out before him.

"There will be 3 rounds!" Cried the referee.

"Each player must force their opponent out of the circle. Two rounds wins the match! On my ready!"

Sora faced Phillip and got into position. Stepping back on his left leg, he angled the keyblade so it was raised high behind him.

"Three!" Sora dug his back leg into the dirt. He could feel the adrenaline start to run through his body.

"Two!" He raised his back elbow, ready to strike.

"One!" Both Sora and Phillip dashed forward and brought their swords into a swing. The blades collided and Sora bounced back regained his footing and took aim.

"Wind!" He yelled. A gust of wind shot from his keyblade but Phillip was too quick. He tucked into a dive and knocked Sora in the stomach as he rose.

"1 for Phillip!" The announced sang. The crowd went wild.

-x-

Sora won the second round so it came to a winner-take-all round. The crowd loved it.

Both Sora and Phillip were covered in sweat and bruises.

"On my ready!" The announcer yelled.

"Three! Two! One!" He rattled off quickly.

Sora jumped to the left and hit Phillip in the side with his blade. Phillip stumbled back but found traction. He pushed off on his back foot and made a direct line for Sora with his sword high over his head. Sora jumped right to avoid Phillip's sword leapt at him with all his might, and body slammed him out of the circle. He barely managed to stay in, himself. Sora raised his key blade over his and the crowd cheered. Sora went to bed that night feeling like a hero again.

-x-

"You and I are connected Riku, as we are connected to the darkness and the darkness is to the light. The more you try to deny what's inside of you, the more you'll destroy every other part of yourself. There is no separating them."

The morning had steadied so there were no traces night had existed. But Riku couldn't look away from the suns. What Maleficent had said was right. All of it and as sick as it made him, he felt better somebody understood.

"What do you mean we're connected?" Riku stuttered, his despair threatening to overcome him.

Maleficent laughed. "Not so eager for me to leave now?"

More than anything, he wanted her to leave, to scream and cry but he wouldn't give her that satisfaction. And if she left… he would be alone and whatever was at the top of the Acropolis would be his last and only chance. If King Mickey's detox didn't work, what were the chances they would give him another opportunity. "I… I want you to get out of here." He said, not caring if he sounded unsure.

"Ah… well it seems you and I have a dilemma." She couldn't hide her glee.

Riku turned to her.

She gestured to the forest. "I'm not 'here' as you put it."

They met eyes and she smiled.

He couldn't stop his shaking as her bony fingers scraped against his temple.

"I'm in here."

-x-

Antoine Toppas was a short man with stringy brown hair, short legs and a round face. His shoulders rested against a cool stonewall, his arms were crossed, and he gazed out the iron rod window at all of The Enchanted Dominion beneath him.

"You know… I grew up my whole life looking up at this castle. I would climb to the tallest tree and image what it would be like to live like a king. I thought…. ' _it must be so clean in there._ '" He chuckled. "Is that weird?"

The Hooded Figure said nothing.

Antoine dragged his finger across the windowsill and it returned to him black. "Guess I was wrong." He sighed and went back to the landscape. "If my younger self could see me now, he would shit his pants!" He gave a big belly laugh but the Hooded Figure kept silent.

The Man noticed. "Sorry, was never much for the Royal mannerisms, or whatever it is you call it. But I can tell you know what I mean; you can always sense it, can't you? That somebody didn't start from wealth."

The eyes seemed to intensify from the shadows.

"Not that I mean anything by it! I just meant, you can tell when someone had to work for the things they have, ya know?! It's a good thing in my book, honestly…. I _respect_ it." The tension seemed to dim and he relaxed.

"You're a man of few words, I respect that too. My father was like that. Hell, I don't think I heard him speak until I was 10."

The Figure rolled his eyes but Antoine just looked through his bedroom window like the outside was hypnotizing.

"Now, that was a man who worked for a living!" He said, dreamily. "We raised sheep on a small farm in the forest. My Dad would tend to them, sheer them, clean up after them, and my Mom spun the wool into the most beautiful fabrics. I'll tell ya, you've never seen anything like them."

"On the first week of every month, he took me to the market and we'd sell the fabric at a little stall he'd made; he must of carried those damn rolls of cloth around the planet twice with all the times we had to make the awful trek through the woods!" "

The Man smiled to himself. "But that was our thing, him and mine, a kind of… father and son bonding. He even took me to the Princess Aurora's Birthday Celebration! My head near exploded when he told me we'd get to go inside the castle; and when the day finally came, I sat on his shoulders while we waited on that very drawbridge, smashed together with all the other excited people but… I knew that this turn of fortune was meant for me and my Dad." He paused. " He never did get to see the inside though…" Antoine laughed weakly but looked pained. "Not before the Princess Aurora was attacked, didn't even make it beyond the front doors."

He sighed. "A few nights later, there came a knock at the door from a royal guard with a royal decree to destroy the spinning wheel my mother used to spin the wool. My father begged them not to take it, we depended on it, but all they said was ' _This is a Royal Decree from King Stephen.'_ We weren't even aloud to make another without it being considered treason."

"We did okay for a while. We tried to sell the rough wool but a lot of good it did when nobody could spin it. So the trips to the market stopped and we remained in our little cottage. The sheep started to thin, though, as we needed the meat to feed ourselves and my Mom got sick. So sick, she couldn't even get out of bed." Tears had started to well up in his eyes but he pushed them away with the back of his hand, afraid to look anywhere but the land below. "My Dad didn't have a choice so he went out to go find work while I stayed to take care of her."

Antoine clenched his jaw and his body seemed to tense until a fire ignited in his eyes. "They came in the middle of the night." His voice strained under the hate. "Slaughtered the sheep before we'd even woken up. They didn't knock this time, they just kicked in the door and started destroying our things. I tried to fight them off but it didn't do any good. Eventually, they grabbed my mother and me, took us outside and shoved a bag of gold in my hand. They said the King needed the cottage for a very important, secret purpose and it was our duty as citizens to do what we could to help." He seemed to break with every word. "They didn't give two shits about _us_! Because of the King and his stupid orders, my Mother died cold and alone in the middle of the forest and all I could do is watch her slip away from me!"

He punched the window and the panes of glass cracked into a web. He relaxed and the piercing eyes continued to watch him.

"Never found my Dad." Antoine recounted. "Or, I guess he never found us. So, I made a promise to myself. That one day, I would leave them as dead and cold as they had left her. Years of maneuvering and begging; and I finally made it inside the castle."

"Ever since that day, I have spent every waking second learning whatever I could so that, when the time came, I would be ready." He turned to the figure and beamed. "And then you showed up! Now, I don't really believe in destiny or whatever but you have to admit that's pretty weird! Of all the servants, of anybody you could of come to, you picked me."

Antoine pushed himself from the wall, and crossed the room to the bed. "Well… I guess I better get back to work. While I still have a job!" He laughed as he dressed in his heavy doublets but couldn't shake the feeling of his accomplice's eyes, boring into the back of his head.

He straightened his stupid hat, grabbed his trumpet and faced the dark corner. "You have everything you need? The map? The schedules? I gave you the updated menus, right?"

The figure nodded.

The small man sighed, put his instrument over his shoulder and made for the door. "Then we're in order. And none too soon, I hate playing the trumpet. But uh…" He stopped with his hand on the brass latch. "… can I ask you a favor?"

The corner was still.

"Make sure every single person who had the luxury of staring down at that forest, dies in the worst way possible. Don't show mercy, they didn't show it to me."

The figure nodded and a throwing knife lodged in The Man's throat. He dropped to the floor, blood pooling through the fingers around his neck and the last thing he saw before he died were the white eyes that never looked away.


	8. Into the Forest

**Author's Note***

Congrats on making it this far! It is not a short story... This is the conclusion to the first part and as we move into the second, I would kindly ask, if you've enjoyed yourself thus far, to review and let me know what you think. I only need one review to get the icon next to the story title and if you have an extra two minutes, it would really make my day. But, more importantly, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

\- Into the Forest -

Sora was perched by his window, waiting for the little man with the trumpet to tell him breakfast was ready when the crack of a catapult cut through the silence of dawn. Sora thought it had to be the boom of a firework; and a brilliant ball of sparkling light appeared in the sky and began to bloom.

 _Not blooming._ Sora's eyes went wide. _Approaching._

Sora dove from the window and onto the bed as his room exploded in a hurricane of fire and debris.

 _What the fu-_

There was another crack and Sora leapt to his feet and bolted to the door as the second fireball hit a lower level. Sora stumbled beneath the swinging chandelier when its chain gave a nauseating snap and he rolled out of the way, escaping by a fraction of an inch before pushing into the hallway just as his room erupted in flames.

-x-

If Sora's room was the frying pan, the hallway wasn't the fire. It was hell.

Smoke billowed from every corner of the hallway and the stone seemed to melt. The infrastructure of the castle had started to give way and the marble flooring was collapsing into the lower floor, swallowing those who stepped on a weak stone. It made every step a land mine.

 _Here we go._

With a deep breath, Sora started his sprint down the hall, jumping from stone to stone as the hallway collapsed behind him. He could hear screams behind the doors he passed but the floor disappeared before he could think to help. Up ahead, the unsteady floor seemed to end and Sora pushed off the ground with all his might and felt the stone give way beneath his feet. He fell forward just as the marble fell to the oblivion below and he clawed for the uneven ledge, managing to hold on as his feet dangled above the flaming lower floors.

 _Go!_

He pulled himself up, onto his feet and ran toward the center of the castle.

-x-

Each turn brought a new array of horrors with a fiery background. The castle was fully awake now and people ran about wildly. Sora couldn't even cast blizzard and be sure he wouldn't hit someone. So, he pressed forward, forced to ignore the screams that built behind him and prayed his charge hadn't met a similar fate.

As he neared the Dining Hall, an older man with bare feet stumbled into his path. "Meera?" He cried with a confused look.

A rock dislodged above them and Sora just managed to knock them both out of the way, and to the ground. When they'd disentangled, the man groaned and Sora crawled to him.

"Are you okay?" He grasped the man's shoulder but couldn't turn him over so Sora looked him over and almost screamed. The man's legs ended at his knees, the rest had been crushed.

"I can't feel my legs!" He screamed with wild panic in his eyes.

Sora froze. Cure couldn't fix an injury this bad. And he needed to find the Princess. If he stayed…

 _I wasn't prepared for this. I'm not ready._

"What are you doing?!" The man cried as Sora began to back away. "Please! You can't leave me here!"

"I…" Tears welled up in his eyes but his feet pulled him away. "I'm so sorry."

Before he could turn away, a rumble came from down the hall and beyond the screaming man, a pillar of fire shot toward them and exploded, obliterating the hall. Sora flew back and slammed against the rough stonewall of the foyer before crumbling to the floor.

When he'd opened his eyes, the doorway he'd been thrown through now led to a broken path with a steep drop into the remains of the castle. His head was pounding but he knew he was close to the atrium so he forced himself to stand.

A wave of nausea overcame him and the world turned upside down.

 _You're shell-shocked._ He scraped together. _Find your center._

He stopped, leaning against the wall for support and allowed himself three deep breaths.

 _I should have been with her._

-x-

The dining hall doubled as a stronghold and all the castles patrons were covered in the orangey glow that illuminated from the windows along the cathedral ceiling. The wounded had been laid out in rows and there were already too many to count.

 _If everybody is coming here, then…_

Sora's stomach dropped.

Groups poured from both wings of the castle but it wasn't long until he saw Aurora handing out bandages near the back of the long throne room.

Sora pushed through the crowd. "Your highness!" He cried and Aurora looked up.

"Sora…" She gave a weak smile of relief. Even in the destruction, she was somber, but calm. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"We need to get you out of here, _NOW."_ Sora tried to pull her back into the west wing when Phillip bound in, a small group of guards behind him.

"Sora! Do you know what's going on?" he looked worried.

Sora shook his head. "No, but we need to move, we aren't safe here."

"Nobody has ever breached the sanctum."

The doors from the hallways let out a breath of fire and collapsed into themselves, blocking off the wings.

"They're corning us!" Sora screamed. "Is there another way out?!"

"The front…"

They looked to the door where a frantic mob pushed against the front doors.

"It's locked!" Someone screamed.

Sora turned to Philip. "That's not going to work."

Phillip bit his lip. "There's a trapdoor, behind the throne."

"Good, take the Princess and get out. Don't tell anyone where you're going. Follow the river until you get to the ocean." He glanced to Aurora but wished he hadn't. The guilt stabbed like a knife. "I'll tell the King to find-… did you hear that?"

Along the ceiling, the stained glass panels exploded all at once and a thick black fog poured in. It moved on it's own accord and consumed whoever it passed until Heartless started to crawl from the cloud like it was a black lagoon. They were more ferocious than Sora had ever seen Heartless. Their claws were longer, their eyes glowed red instead of yellow. And they weren't interested in sending people's hearts to darkness. Instead, the dark spirits raced in every direction, jumping from victim to victim just long enough to rip their throat open before dashing to the next. It wasn't long until the floors ran red.

By this point, a thousand black shadows were between them and the throne and more began to circle around them. One leapt from Phillip's left but Sora cut it in half.

"Go!" Sora cried. "I can hold them off but you need to leave!"

He hurled his keyblade at another that crept behind the princess and his weapon returned like a boomerang. _"Please! GO!"_

Phillip looked pained but nodded and Aurora grasped Sora's hand. "Thank you." She said gently.

When she let go, the guards surrounded them in a human shield. Sora covered them as long as he was able but two of their guards were still ripped to shreds.

In the few short moments since their siege, the Heartless had decimated the room. The few that remained alive were not likely to stay that way, so the creatures turned their attention to Sora and stalked toward him like group of bloodthirsty sharks.

"Just like old times." He readied his keyblade.

They attacked him in droves, over and over again. One would leap from the ground and as Sora brought his keyblade through it, there was another, and another, and it became clear this wasn't a fight he could win. Then, they started to land blows. A scratch on his arm, a bite to his leg but it was slowing him down, he could feel the wounds opening. His strikes were less urgent, his arm felt heavy and his body threatened to collapse from exhaustion.

 _You just have to buy them time._

With one misstep, Sora stumbled and received a thousand deeps cuts from the hurricane of claws around him. He screamed and the heartless suddenly stopped and melted away, only to reform as a dark tidal wave with a thousand pairs of yellow eyes.

Then, a thunderous boom shook the hall and the double doors flew open, letting the outside smoke creep in and billow toward the ceiling. The Heartless froze in mid strike, and all at once, looked behind them. Something commanded their attention, and they disintegrated back into the ground so nothing but carnage stood between Sora and the Hooded Figure in the frame of the door.

Sora didn't know who was more surprised, him or the new guest, but for a moment of unbearable silence, they stared at one another. In the backdrop of the doorway, the host was made up of Heartless, goblins, monsters and some creatures Sora didn't even know the name of. But all of them were covered in blood.

"It's you." Sora accused. "You're the one who is doing all of this!"

The hood tilted to the side, like they'd caught Sora somewhere he shouldn't have been.

"You're too late!" Sora's body shook as he stood and he was forced to use his keyblade for support. "They've already gone!"

From among the hordes of soldiers along the drawbridge, a group was called forward and pointed to the back of the Hall, right toward the throne.

"No!" Sora pleaded to The Hooded Figure. "Let's do this, you and me! If I win, you let us go!"

A Wendigo snarled at the threat and charged at Sora. But, the figure barely had to lift a finger and the creature froze. Sora could figure it was smiling about now. Whoever was behind the hood strode into the hall.

"Just us, right?" He nodded to the door. "That means no armies."

 _Buy time, stay alive. Buy time, stay alive._

The Figure turned back around, like they had no idea what Sora could be talking about. The doors slammed shut on their own accord, none-the-less and it was just the two of them among the fresh graveyard.

A brilliant tone rang as the Hooded Figure unsheathed an enormous broadsword from their back. But instead of grey metal, the blade was clear and reflected upon itself like a lethal diamond.

Before Sora could ready himself, the figure was on him. They heaved their gigantic weapon above their head and came down with maximum force. Sora held out his keyblade with both hands, his whole body vibrated from the impact, but the Figure went for another attack from high in the air and Sora had to take a step back to absorb the blow, but the hammering continued endlessly. Unable to ready a counterattack between the rabid, almost psychotic strikes, Sora had lost a lot of ground, fast.

It wasn't long until he felt the back of his knees hit something and he fell backward and found himself seated in Aurora's high back throne, with the crystal sword to his throat.

"Do it!" His voice broke and he clenched his eyes shut.

 _I'm finally going to know what it's like to lose._

Nothing happened, and the point of the blade left his neck.

Anger welled up inside him. " _I SAI-"_

They struck him with the back of their metal glove and Sora spewed blood and teeth to the side of the throne which left Sora's neck exposed. The Hooded Figure ran their sword along his skin, slicing it open, slowly and precisely. Sora let out a piercing scream but The Hooded Figure held him still while they made five thin, but deep incisions.

When they let go, Sora slumped into the chair, light headed.

 _What's the point?_

And he passed out.

-x-

 _When I wake up, it will have been a bad dream._

A wetness pooled at the back of his head and excited cheers echoed all around him.

 _You fell asleep by the window._

The cheers grew louder. Then came the smell of sulfur and ash.

 _You'll take the mission seriously, today. Nothing bad has happened._

"Hey!" came a cold voice. "Time to wake up! You're going to want to be awake for this, keyblade wielder."

A swift kick knocked the air from Sora to the sound of ribs cracking. His eyes flew open and the world was blurry with tears and blood. He felt the wet earth beneath him and his wrists were pinned back by a leather cord but the worst was the searing pain that came from the cuts on his neck. It was dark but the sun still cast an ominous red glow through the thick black smoke that polluted the sky and onto the tops of-

 _Trees… They've taken me to the forest._

Sora was hoisted from the ground to meet Sephiroth's conniving smile. The military general set him on his feet and grasped Sora's binds so he was forced to watch with the rest of the troops.

Suddenly, a thousand feet started pounding the ground and once Sora's vision cleared, he saw he'd fallen into a nightmare. There were thousands of them; demons, spirits, goblins, phantoms, ogres, trolls and things Sora didn't even know what to call; all with the same bloodthirsty gaze affixed to the other side of the field.

 _No. No no no no no no no_

At the head of the clearing was a small incline that worked as a stage with a large stone slab as it's altar. Breaking from the trees and climbing to hill were two cloaked figures, one with a clear sword on their back and a taller one with Aurora's hair in their fist.

 _No. no no no no no no no no_

"Aurora!" Sephiroth hit Sora across the face and then pulled him back upright.

"Shut up!" He glared. "You don't want to miss the best part."

Aurora's captor raised his free arm to reveal a knife and the crowd fell silent. He removed his hood. Sora couldn't say he was surprised to see Xehanort's pasty white face.

"Welcome creatures of the dark!" He screamed. The crowd flew into a flurry of excitement. "For centuries, we have followed ruler after ruler, plan after plan and still we were never given what was promised! BUT NOW - now is the time of The Reborn! And what The Reborn promises, The Reborn delivers!" Xehanort seemed to look right at Sora.

"Here is a Princess of Heart!" He raised Aurora to the crowd and something inside of Sora broke. Beaten and tattered, the once pure and innocent Princess had been permanently scarred by the stain of evil.

"They tried to tell us that the power only lies with the light…" Xehanort continued. "But it is with Light we will release the true power of darkness!"

A scarlet blur flashed amongst the trees. Sora seemed to be the only one to see it and hope bubbled in his stomach. In the highest branches of the surrounding trees, Phillip's men stationed along the perimeter, poised to strike.

"With this sacrifice, upon the ancient blood stone, we will sever the once unbreakable chain!"

"Now!" Phillip screamed. The royal guard dropped onto the army of The Reborn and the fighting began. In the commotion, Sora stomped his heel on Sephiroth's foot, wretched free and took off at a sprint.

Sephiroth screamed something behind him as Sora ran into the battle that had broken out across the clearing. Ahead, a giant Minotaur heaved his bloody, double sided axe down on one of Phillip's soldiers and Sora jumped, looped his arms beneath his feet so his hands were front of him; and, using the mud trodden ground, he slid between the fight. The Minotaur's axe sliced right through cuffs and gave the soldier the opportunity to land a fatal blow.

With his hands free, Sora summoned Fenrir and cleared all the heartless around him with a single scream of thunder in time to see Xehanort dragging Aurora to the alter. But Phillip was closing in, stopped in a fight with two banshees.

Sora ran to him. "Phillip, down!" The prince ducked and Sora's keyblade flew over him to take out both opponents.

"She's at the altar, we have to move." Sora heaved.

Phillip clenched his sword. "I'll get them apart, you get her out." And he was running before Sora could protest.

"Hey!" Phillip called at the base of the summit and threw a cloud of dirt at Xehanort's back. When the master turned, he already looked amused.

"Pretty cowardice to claim the power of darkness when light is an innocent woman." Phillip taunted.

Xehanort's face-hardened. He threw Aurora into the dirt and two beams of red light appeared in each hand. "Fine." He scoffed. "Let's do this quickly."

Sora crept along the perimeter of the forest, staying low in the underbrush, the trees were too sparsely spaced to offer sufficient coverage. Phillip managed to hold Xehanort off, but just barely and Sora debated going to help until he saw Aurora, lying unguarded, but motionless a few feet away. He crouched next to her and shook her gently. "Princess!" He whispered. "Please, wake up! We have to go!"

 _Please be okay, please please please please_

"Princess! Princess! Aurora! Wake up!"

Sora's hand returned to him covered in blood. That's when he saw the deep gash across Aurora's stomach.

 _It's over._ He slumped to the ground.

 _I've killed her._

Aurora coughed and her eyes fluttered open.

There was a lump in Sora's throat. "You're okay!" He couldn't help himself from wrapping his arms around her.

"Are they gone?" Her eyes were hollow and her voice, solemn.

"No. Phillip is holding off Xehanort. And, I didn't see where the other-"

The Hooded Figure leapt from a high branch and came down hard. Sora barely managed to roll him and Aurora to safety, but the hooded figure recovered quickly and charged at such a blinding speed, Sora was pinned against a tree with The Hooded Figure's fingers around his throat before he could blink. Their grasp tightened around his neck and his cuts from the crystal sword began to bleed again.

Aurora stood but The Hooded Figure hadn't seemed to notice. Sora didn't react, he couldn't let The Reborn leader know, he just had to keep their attention long enough for-

A silver blur flew between them and a red web spread across the front of Aurora's dress. The Princess pulled the Hooded Figure's throwing knife from her stomach before she collapsed to the ground; her golden crown rolling off into the forest.

The Hooded Figure turned back to Sora. "You have been reborn."

From above came the thunderous sound of thousands of engines and Gummi Ships filled the sky. Both Sora and the Hooded Figure looked up and the sounds of the battle began to slow.

"Retreat!" Xehanort yelled to the troops, sounding annoyed. Him and Philip were only a few meters from Sora and Phillip had nearly lost the upper hand.

Sora spit into the hood. "You're not going to get away-"

He screamed when The Hooded Figure ripped out a lock of his hair, dropped him at the base of the tree and kicked him down. When Sora looked up, The Hooded Figure had disappeared into the forest.

Then he heard Xehanort's chuckle as he stood over a kneeling Phillip, weapon raised.

Sora flung himself from the forest to block the blow but Xehanort was prepared and flung the younger boy back. "Time to learn, Keyblade Wielder, you can't win every battle."

Xehanort ran the beaming red dagger through the crook of Phillip's neck and dragged it down to his heart. Sora ran to the Prince's side as Xehanort dove into the current of troops fleeing the forest.

Sora sat beside the prince and leaned him against his knees to try and ease the pressure.

"Did Aurora make it?" Philip asked, hopeful.

 _It should have been me._

"Yes, she's safe." He tried to hold back the tears and force a smile. "She knew she'd be okay… if you were around."


	9. Interlude

They would be back any minute and there would be news of his beloved, he was sure. When he'd been told he wouldn't be included in the trip to the Enchanted Dominion, he'd been upset but too well conditioned to show his discontent to his Master, his Creator, his Savior. They had brought him back to life, given him purpose and opened his eyes to the other half of his soul he now knew he couldn't live without.

But their message was becoming cloudy and he didn't know if he could continue not to see his Master leaning toward their own interests.

 _It doesn't matter as long as I am given what was promised._

He entered the long, dark hallway his Master had constructed specifically for this purpose. Usually, he avoided this place, at first it had been too painful, his very own reflection became a reminder of what he lacked and by extension, everything he wasn't. But as time passed, he had taken comfort amongst the thousands of mirrors that filled every inch of the walls and ceiling. Collected from thousands of worlds, they were all unique and beautiful and they cast their observer into a kaleidoscope. And, they had become a preview for what was to come and, where once he reviled his own appearance, he now spent hours using it to prove he wouldn't be alone forever.

Their hideout had become nearly intolerable but they were assured they would not be found on this world. The heat was suffocating and they weren't allowed to leave the confines unless explicitly ordered to do so, so he spent the majority of his days wandering about the mirrors, analyzing the forgotten books, potions and ingredients left in the study, and kept clear of the other Reborn members. His Master had brought Xehonart back first and that had been explained to him as a necessity of the plan. They needed an identifiable face at the front of their army and not the kind he possessed, which was then followed by Maleficent, the clone, and then himself. And then the rest.

When he had first been brought back, it was like he'd woken up from a long dream that started after his battle at the graveyard. He had been naked, cold, and discombobulated but when his vision cleared, all he could see was his new Master, standing above him. The resurrection had acted as a rebirth, not just for him but for the others as well.

His faith, by its very definition, was fickle and he couldn't help but begin to question the true extent of his Master's powers. But his Master's power was beyond question; he'd learned that when he was allowed to gaze into the enchanted glass and the reflection was of a boy who looked just like him, in every way, except for one. It had always been a mystery to him, why his eyes were dim, no matter how he felt. His old master had cited his lack of heart as the reason; but then how could he feel this way? Then there was his doppelganger, who was filled with light and life; and it radiated with his every movement. That's when he'd fallen in love, the moment he saw him.

The Keyblade Wielder represented everything he wanted to be, and everything he knew he couldn't. And, deep down, he knew that he could never find that happiness within himself. He could never possess that kind of love or ease, so the most he could hope for would be for Sora to share it with him, to be underneath the umbrella that the Keyblade Wielder cast and once he was there, he would never leave. Venitus was sure that would be enough, it had to be.

He'd returned to that very mirror, night after night, hoping to see another view of Sora but it was always his own picture he was forced to settle for. How the mirror worked, he didn't know, that was another secret his Master kept locked away, so Venitus was only given glimpses when he'd done well, like extinguishing the Cornerstone, or telling his Master the trumpet player had been ripe to be their informant. And he'd relished every detail he could scavenge when the scenes played out before him and he was never disappointed, except when Riku was in the picture. That was why Venitus tolerated Maleficent more than the others, she got results, and he wanted Riku out of the way.

"Your Master isn't going to be happy you were in here."

Venitus jumped a mile in the air and at the end of the hall was Sephiroth. " _Our_ Master." Venitus snapped.

Sephiroth was a mistake that never should have happened. He had been resurrected at the pestering of Xehonart that Leon Squall would need to be dealt with and so far, that had proved untrue. If anything, the _former_ military general had preoccupied himself with the little girl and it just happened to be dumb luck the Master might have special use for her. But the attack tonight was necessary, regardless. They needed to make a statement. The Princesses had to be annihilated. And he wanted Sora to know he was coming.

"Don't you want to know how tonight went?" Sephiroth asked.

He did want to know but Sephiroth's grin was too infuriating. "No. Master will tell me everything when they arrive." And he turned back toward the mirror.

" _Sora_ was there."

Venitus leapt across the room, tackled Sephiroth to the ground and held his conjured blade to the older man's throat. "Don't you EVER say his name to me again!"

He punched Sephiroth, who spit up a tooth but smiled at Venitus with a bloody mouth. "You are a little psycho, do you know that?"

Venitus punched him again when they felt a shadow above them and there was his Master, hood draw and a glittering sword strapped to their back.

"Master!" Venitus screamed and threw himself to their mercy. "I'm so sorry! He provoked me!"

The Hood turned to Sephiroth who pushed himself to his feet. "The boy snapped and attacked me, I'm lucky to be alive. Seems he's just as unpredictable as his counter part."

Venitus erupted. "THAT'S NOT TR-"

His Master held out his palm. Venitus closed his mouth and looked down.

 _"Leave us."_ The Master hissed at Sephiroth who nodded and scurried from the room. The two were left in silence.

Venitus couldn't help himself. "Is it true? Was Sora there tonight?" He dared to look up and the Hooded Figure nodded.

 _If I had gone, we would be together right now._

Every happiness Venitus had ever known was extinguished inside him and there was nothing left but black.

"What was he like?"

His Master seemed to chuckle while they crossed to one of the mirrors and beckoned Venitus forward.

The images started within it's glass but it was nothing except forest; and then there was sky, and beyond, a castle. And as the image got closer, he could make out Sora seated in the window but something flew from the sky and Sora disappeared just as his window was obliterated.

"NO!" He pressed himself to the glass and tears streamed down his face. "Is he alright?! What happened?! Please! Please show me more!"

The picture became a dark brown that opened to a huge Hall, it's only occupant was Sora and a host of Heartless.

"Is this what happened today?" Venitus asked, too afraid to look elsewhere.

His Master nodded and began to walk away.

"Thank you!" Venitus sobbed. "Thank you…"

Venitus sat in front of the mirror until sunrise, watching the events of the Enchanted Dominion, over and over with tears of joy in his eyes.


	10. An Insufficient Memory

\- An Insufficient Memory -

Riku remained on the steps of the Acropolis, even as the dual suns blazed down on him and the gold temple's shell became scalding to the touch. Maleficent disappeared shortly after she'd finished her story, and just as well, Riku didn't have anything to say either way.

 _But_ , he figured, _I guess she's never truly gone._

Because the truth was, her offer was tempting. Why fight the darkness inside him when he can figure out how to utilize it? Draw power from it? And maybe Sora wouldn't understand, but it would just make Riku a more effective warrior and his friend would see that, in time.

So, it became a debate. Climb the stairs, and keep the faith that whatever awaited at the top could help conquer the darkness when it seemed all his other attempts had failed. Or, he could go back into the jungle and, once and for all, own the black within him, and that was sure to come with an entirely different set of rules.

 _Sora would want you to get help._

Why did it always matter what Sora wanted? Riku was different than him, he had to live by different circumstances, and he couldn't always be held to the same standard. And it was unfair for Sora to ask that of him.

 _He never doubted you._

It was Sora's own fault if he was disappointed! Riku had told him, time and time again about what it was like, how hard it was to hold on.

 _Be the person he knows you can be._

Riku climbed the rest of the stairs.

-x-

"I'm worried about him." Kairi closed the heavy oak door behind her. The King, Donald and Goofy were seated around a large carven table in the underground levels of the Enchanted Dominion. The setting was as grim as the predicament, and Kairi shivered in the cold darkness of their dark meeting chamber.

The King sighed. "Has he said anything yet?"

Kairi shook her head. "He hasn't said… or done anything. Will he be okay?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

A few hours had passed since the attack on the Enchanted Dominion. A deafening alarm had blared at Disney Castle; and when the King told Kairi there was an attack she had been on the first Gummi Ship to leave the ground.

When they'd arrived, she had launched into the forest to cut anything that moved. That's when she spotted Sora across the yard as a hooded figure disappeared into the chaos, and she knew the fight had been lost. But when Kairi made it to the top of the hill, she hadn't prepared for the devastation.

Her fellow Princess of Heart lay, face down, on the perimeter of the forest with bloody lacerations all across her body. Nearby, Sora remained motionless with blood on his face and Phillip's corpse on his lap. He just looked straight ahead with Phillip's coat tightly grasped in his fist.

 _What happened here?_

Kairi made sure Sora heard approach but it didn't seem to matter, he wasn't with her in the clearing. She knelt beside him and put her hand on his arm. "Sora… I've got you, okay? We need to get out of here." He didn't move.

Kairi pulled him, gently. "There's nothing you can do for him now, we just need to get to a safe place. Sora? Are you listening to me?"

There was no sign that he was.

With much difficulty, and a painful moment where she had to pry Sora's hand free of the body, Kairi was able to detach him and practically dragged him back to the castle. But this wasn't the boy she left Destiny Island with. He didn't say a word; he just stared into the distance, watching the horrific memory like a movie. Over and over.

The only time he responded was when Kairi tried to clean the blood off his hands and he'd ripped them away. So, under the King's recommendation, they situated Sora in one of the guard's quarters, and summoned a meeting.

"He's in shock, Kairi. He needs time." The King tried to give a reassuring smile but it did little to lift her spirits.

"Well what can we do to help him?" Kairi pointed to Donald's wand on the table. "Magic! You can cure him!" she exclaimed. Donald grabbed the wand and dragged it into his lap.

"That's not good magic Kairi." He stuttered. "We don't do spells like that."

Kairi looked between them. "But there is something you can do?"

"Sora's strong. He'll bounce back from this. Just let him work it out for himself, okay?"

"I guess so." Kairi looked to her shoes. Sora and Mickey were friends too, she reminded herself. He was probably just as upset as she was. "So… what do we do now?"

The mouse stood on top of the aged cushion. "We need to collect all the information we can about the attack. Donald, round up whatever witnesses from the castle you can find, see what they can tell us. It was obviously led from the forest, maybe something with Maleficent?" The King asked.

"But the man in the robe." Kairi announced. "He looked like Organization, didn't he? Do you think they're working together?"

Goofy shook his head. "They didn't seem too good a' friends in the World that Never Was."

"And Maleficent isn't a forgiver… or forgetter." Donald squawked.

Kairi sighed. "Well if she's out, then that leads us back to the Organization. What if, whatever new evil is coming, raised the Organization Members from the digital space? They already brought back Sephiroth."

The King thought it over. "It's possible. But why only send one member with no other planned attacks?"

"Plans we know about!" Donald yelled.

"Have you heard anything from the other planets?" Kairi asked hurriedly.

"All quiet. We've doubled security in Agrabah, alerted the Beast, and raised the red alert for the rest. If there was going to be another attack, it would have happened already." The King declared.

The group looked between themselves and they were forced to ask the question nobody wanted to know the answer to. "What about Aurora?" Kairi stammered. "There's one less Princess of Heart, doesn't that mean the light is broken?"

"It means we have six other princesses to protect." The King said and jumped off his chair to head toward the door. "Including yourself. We need to head back to Disney Castle, there isn't a safer place." He looked at Kairi. "Before we go, though, we need to know what happened in the forest and Sora's the only reliable witness we have, we'll get his version first. Goofy, tell whatever troops we brought to remain here and help mend the wounded. And, write King Stephan, we'll withdraw once he's taken over." He swept out of the room.

-x-

"Hello?" Riku called into the darkness and a thousand echoes returned his call. "Is someone here?"

The inside of the stone temple was only lit by the sunlight that poured through its doorway, and that only managed to cast a dim glow around the seemingly endless room. Riku started forward, passing rows of columns on either side until he came to a shallow wading pool in the center. The water looked clean, and before he realized what he was doing, Riku knelt beside it and began to drink.

The water absorbed into his cracked, dry mouth and he drank handful after handful but in the end, opted to dunk his entire head in. When he pulled back, something, or someone, moved amongst the shadows.

"Hello?" He asked of the empty room and another dancing shadow moved in the distance. Riku walked toward it, and toward the back of the temple.

Along the back wall, torches were mounted above ancient carvings, drawn like a spider-web. Within it's deep grooves, gemstones and jewels were inlaid, so they sparked by the firelight. Riku couldn't help but admire them when the shadow appeared on the wall behind him.

Riku turned with his weapon in hand and brought it to the intruder's throat. It was a woman, not much older than him, with short blue hair, and a keyblade pressed into his stomach.

"Who are you?" She snapped. "And why are you here?"

-x-

Sora's eyes were fixated on the stone wall across the room. He didn't know who had put him here, or where it was. Was this his room? No, his room had been destroyed in the attack. Sora closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Something rose in his stomach so he fixated, once again, on the stone wall across the room.

What came next? Phillip and Aurora were… Sora couldn't bring himself to think the word. And it was because of him. The King had told him what might happen but he'd been too proud, too concerned with finishing the war instead of winning it. Sora closed his eyes, took a deep breath and fixated on the stone wall across the room.

Their side was weakened with fragments in the light, Sora knew that. To what degree, he wasn't sure, nothing like this had happened before, not that he had heard of. But whatever the solution was, he doubted the King would call on him again. He doubted anyone would. Sora closed his eyes, took a deep breath and fixated on the stonewall across the room.

Tears welled in the corner of his eyes. Where was Riku? What was he doing? What would he think of him, now he wasn't the hero they all thought he was? He couldn't face them, how could he look at the King's face after what he'd done? Sora felt that all he'd accomplished could never amount to the damage he'd caused in a single night. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and fixated on the stonewall across the room.

The heavy brass latch slid from the lock and shattered the silence like glass.

"Hello?" came Kairi's light voice, and her head popped through the door. Sora didn't look up.

Kairi crept into the room with her head hung low and her voice too soft. A spark of anger flew up inside of Sora. He didn't want to be coddled, not after what he'd done. "What do you want?" He said flatly.

With a small nod, Kairi closed the door behind her. The light dimmed and the two friends were left in the darkness. "You need to eat something." Kairi smiled and tried to meet his eye line. Sora looked right through her.

"I'm not hungry." All enthusiasm had left his voice.

Kairi felt awkward. "I didn't think you would be but… I'm glad you're talking again."

"What…" The tears came on their own. "What are they going to do to me?"

"Do to you?" Kairi questioned but the door opened again with Mickey in the archway.

"Sorry Kairi, but we need to talk to him."

Kairi looked back at Sora. "This is only going to take a minute. They - I'm sorry - but we need to know what happened. You know, in case we need to act on something."

Sora thought he would throw up but managed a nod. Mickey, along with five people Sora had never seen before, entered the small room. One of them turned on a tape recorder, while the other took out a pen and a map.

"Sora?" Said the King. "Can we begin with the attack? When did it start?"

 _A blooming firework in the sky._

"They… they had catapults… from the forest." He stuttered. "It started at dawn. With balls of fire."

There was unease in the room, and Sora felt something inside of him begin to slip.

 _No more. No more._

Mickey touched his arm. "It's okay, tell us what happened next."

There was a lump in Sora's throat he tried to swallow. "The castle was chaos… so many people died... I tried to help, but…" It was silent while he composed himself. "Everybody was going to the Throne room but… that's where they wanted us. And that's where I found Aurora and Phillip."

"You weren't near them when the attack started?" Mickey asked.

Sora shook his head.

"Then what?" The King asked with an edge to his voice.

"The Heartless decimated the room…. And the leader was there, but I never saw their face."

"Is that where they apprehended you?"

Sora shook his head again. "Phillip and The Princess escaped through a trap door under the throne. I tried to hold them off but they seemed to know what we would do."

The King and his men exchanged looks. "And, is the leader the one that cut your neck?"

Sora didn't say anything.

"May you show it to us?"

Sora's hand trembled, but he pulled down his collar and winced as the fresh wound was irritated.

"It's the mark of The Reborn." Mickey commented, analyzing it with a blank face. "Can you think of why they gave it to you?"

"Your Highness, I think Sora needs a break." Kairi mumbled from the back.

"I know this is hard, Kairi but the more information we have, the more lives we can save." He turned back to Sora. "Now, what happened in the forest?"

Sora opened his mouth but tears started to flood down his face and he shook his head wildly. "I can't - I'm sorry, I can't. I can't do this. I can't."

"It's okay, Sora. Just take a deep breath."

Kairi clenched her teeth. "Your majesty."

He tried, but it was like his body was rejecting the very idea of calm, so it ended up coming out as shallow gasps that served to make him light headed.

The King looked him in the eyes. "You were going to talk about the forest. What happened to the Princess?"

"It's… it's my fault… it's 'cause of me… that she's dead!" He erupted in a fit of sobs.

"That's enough!" Kairi snapped. "You can ask him more when we're back at Disney Castle. After he's rested."

"But Kairi -" The King started.

Kairi snapped. "But nothing!" She pulled back, recognizing her mistake. "I'm sorry. I don't mean any disrespect. But, your majesty, how many lives are you putting at risk if you break our best fighter?"

 _I'm already broken._

"You're right." The King stood. "I'm sorry, Sora. I should have waited." He turned to his host and motioned toward the door and they filtered out.

"Get him to a ship." He said to Kairi before he left. "There's nothing left for him here."

-x-

"My name is Riku." The edge of her instrument pushed into his stomach. "The King sent me."

"King who?" The girl sounded annoyed.

"… Mickey? He sent me here to… train with you." She pushed her keyblade into his gut, and he twisted his closer to her throat. "He said you might know something about the darkness."

She froze. "I haven't seen Mickey in many years. How did he know I'd returned?"

Riku rolled his eyes and loosed his grip a little. "He knows everything."

She withdrew her sword and started to walk into the center of the Acropolis. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I can't help. There's a reason I'm in the middle of the jungle in a dark temple and it's not 'cause I love parties."

An ice-cold chill ran through Riku. His worst fear was coming true before they had even begun.

 _Sora never doubted you._

"Please! If he sent me here, then he _knows_ you can help." She stopped at the edge of the pool but didn't turn. "I… I'm out of options. If you can't help me… I'll just have to move in here with you, 'cause I have nowhere else to go."

She turned and rolled her eyes. "Why did you become my responsibility?"

Riku rolled his eyes back at her. "Did you have something else going on?"

"Rule one, don't be rude." She started towards the sidewall of the temple.

Riku jumped behind her. "Rule one, does that mean you're going to help?"

He heard her sigh but didn't care, and he felt a spark of hope again. Meanwhile, the girl had run her hands along the adobe wall until she found something Riku couldn't see and pushed in a stone. The large wall moved and revealed a passageway beyond. "It means I need time to figure out how to get you to leave and not feel bad about it."

The hidden passage was nothing but a staircase that lead into the heart of the Acropolis. "Are you going to tell me your name?" He asked.

For a moment, it seemed like she was just relieved to say her own name again, and Riku wondered how long it had been. "It's Aqua."

-x-

Sora looked out the window as the Gummi ship pushed off from the ground. Kairi fidgeted nervously in her seat next to him.

"Where's Riku?" He asked, breaking the silence.

It was the one question Kairi had dreaded. "He's still on his mission. I'll call him right when we get back to the Castle."

Sora didn't speak for the rest of the flight.

-x-

When they had arrived back at Disney Castle, Sora had gone straight back to his room and Kairi hadn't seen him since. She tried to go with him, but he brushed her off so she had returned to her own wing of the castle.

Like Sora's, Kairi's room had over stuffed furniture and a roaring fireplace but her bed had been topped with a canopy and an ornate vanity mirror next to it. She sat at its bench and dialed Riku. The watch rang for an uncomfortable amount of time, and with each passing second, the hole in Kairi's stomach grew deeper.

 _If he were all right, he would answer._

The dark thoughts came too fast to stop and by the time it disconnected, Kairi was ready to tell the King she would be going after Riku.

"Maybe it's a bad connection." A voice came from behind her.

Reflected in the mirror was Sephiroth, reclined in one of the comfy chairs, legs crossed, watching Kairi. Her insides flipped but she thought she hid her surprise well.

"I wondered when you'd come back." She growled.

Sephiroth laughed. "I missed you, too."

She rolled her eyes. "Can we just get to it?"

In a flash, he was behind her with his index finger pressed to her back. "Don't think that one conversation with a computer puts you at an advantage. The only reason I don't snap your spine is because I'm deciding not to."

Her breath was taken from her, but she had prepared for this moment. "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already. So why don't you just tell me what you want?"

Then, the unthinkable happened, Sephiroth looked surprised and started to laugh. He stood up straight and started to applaud. "The King has been teaching you well! That was almost believable!" The clapping stopped. "And mighty for a girl who let her planet fall into despair."

She'd prepared for this, too. "Radiant Garden wasn't my fault, so if that's the best you have, you can save it."

"You're very quick to scrub the deaths of millions from your conscience, but it was worth a shot. As it stands, though, you are correct, I do have need of you. My Master finds you an anomaly, a keyblade wielding Princess of Heart, and the one we haven't managed to break, yet." Kairi went to speak but Sephiroth continued. "And, for that reason, we are offering you a deal I advise you take. My Master, in exchange for you, will call a cease fire on all the other Princesses."

-x-

The door to Sora's room opened and he was torn from his nightmare. His back was to the door but he could feel someone standing in the archway until the hallway's light dimmed, the door closed and there were footsteps on his floor.

"Sora?" It was Leon. He sounded concerned but despite himself, Sora didn't say anything.

There was a moment of stillness, then a pressure on the bed, and Leon lay next to him, with an arm around his waist.

"It's not your fault."

He couldn't see but Sora began to cry.

-x-

Aqua had created a jungle all by herself that was nestled in the interior of the Acropolis. The walls on either side of the stairs stopped halfway down so it was like Riku was walking through open air to a small patch of grass with a river running through, supplied by a modest waterfall that poured from a port in the wall. Plants grew along the walls that doubled as marshes and small birds and butterflies flew about. Aqua managed to bottle the best parts of nature.

When she'd cleared the stairs, Aqua crossed to a wooden cabinet that blended with the foliage and extracted a basket from inside. "You're probably hungry." It was filled with bread and she held it out to him.

It probably seemed rude, when Riku ran and grabbed it from her hands but he was so famished, he couldn't care.

"What is this place?" Riku looked around, eyes wide.

Aqua followed his glance, like she was seeing it all for the first time. "A sanctuary I built for myself."

"Why build a jungle in the middle of the jungle?" He asked, while spewing crumbs.

"It's a nexus point, between our world and the darkness." She pointed to an archway in the wall that was so lightly engraved, it would have been impossible to know it was there. "When I came through it, all of this was dead." She looked around. "And this is what grew after I decided to stay."

"Why?" Riku was confused. "Why stay if you just managed to escape?"

She shrugged. "I became trapped in the darkness a long time ago, and the only thought that pushed me forward, to keep walking that dark path, was that there would be light on the other side. I walked for years and nothing ever changed until the endless night ended with a glimmer in the darkness. There used to be strong magic on this world, but it's all since died out. I was able to use the last traces of that ancient power to travel through the portal. It didn't occur to me that, for all those years, I never gave a single thought to what I would do once I escaped. _If_ I escaped."

"But without anybody to talk to, isn't this just as bad as the darkness?"

"It's light here." She said, sadly. "And I know I'm doing something good by keeping this nexus for the side of good. But, it does get lonely. If you're here to battle your darkness, my suggestion to you is to stop. Darkness is in all of us; it's all around us. Concentrate on the light, make that grow brighter or else you're fighting a fight you're never going to win."

-x-

"Kairi…" The King sighed. "This has 'trap' written all over it."

Kairi couldn't help but feel like she was on trial with both hands behind her back, stationed in front of the King's desk while he debated her decision to take Sephiroth up on his offer. "I don't think it is and if I can give us some time to figure things out -"

"And wind up dead? Then we would be another Princess down. Besides, we have no guarantee this is a legitimate offer. Chances are, they'll take you, kill you on the spot and cross you off their list."

"They could have already, and they didn't!" She knew The King was partially right, she probably would be killed, and that had her screaming inside for him to decline her offer. But there was a stronger, louder voice that said this was the right thing to do. "I can save a lot of lives and I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't try."

"I'm sorry Kairi, but the answer is no. We will not buy into every red herring the enemy throws our way. We are working on fixing the Cornerstone and after that happens, I'm hoping to have a lot less of these conversations."

A rise of anger sparked in Kairi, but she held it down. "I understand, your Majesty." And before he could say another word, she was down the hallway and on her way to Sora's room. But when she made it to his door, she was surprised to see Leon coming out.

"Leon?!" Kairi asked, her mind was still racing from her conversation with the King. "What're you doing here?!"

"Why are you yelling?" He questioned.

"Am I?!" She heard it, then. "Sorry…" she said softer. "Just a little wound up, I guess. When did you get back?"

"Just a bit ago, thought I'd check in on him first."

"And?"

Leon shrugged. "About right, considering what he's been through." He nodded to her. "Now, what has you so wound up?"

-x-

Ten minutes later and out of breath, Kairi finished her story and waited for Leon to agree with her.

"You shouldn't go." He said bluntly. "It would be suicide."

Kairi wanted to scream. "But I can't do nothing! What if this is the break we've been waiting for?"

"I think the break already came."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Whatever The Reborn wants, it seems to come down to something they think you have. Don't give them what they want, figure out why they want it."

Kairi nodded. "Right, but the King forbid me from going anywhere. And where would I even start looking for something like that?"

Leon looked around, like someone might be listening and pulled Kairi into a hallway nook. "Just between us, the girls back in Radiant Garden might have found something. When we tried to look into The Reborn, we couldn't find _anything_. No past members, hideouts, nothing. And a group this big doesn't just start with a bang, they have a history so we changed the search, worked from the angle of the Princesses, trying to figure out what they could be after."

"And… What did you find?" Kairi said eagerly.

"That there's another… an eighth Princess we didn't know about, until now."

Kairi's head was racing. "Another Princess? Is that even possible?"

Leon shrugged. "Don't know, yet. But we have coordinates, just not a plan of action."

"Have you told the King?"

That seemed to make Leon more nervous. "Before he left, Sora came to me. He was worried about you and Riku. I told him to trust the both of you and to trust the King's decisions. Well, I'm starting to wonder if the second part was bad advice, so I'll follow the first."

"So you think I should go talk to this 'new princess'?" She glanced back over her shoulder to Sora's bedroom door. "I can't, I can't leave him like this."

"I'll take care of Sora, and I'll tell him where you went. But if this is _really_ something you want to act on, I would advise you to move quickly."

"But King Mickey said I couldn't go anywhere, and any departure that isn't on the flight plan will point directly to me."

"Not unless it's not your ship."

-x-

And that's how Kairi found herself launching into space, screaming at the top of her lungs with her destinations coordinates glowing on Leon's flight panel.

-x-


End file.
